Ping-Pong Diplomacy

"Ping-pong diplomacy" refers to a series of events involving the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) teams between the People's Republic of China and the United States in the early 1970s. These visits initiated a thaw in Sino-US relations, and are figuratively referred to as a process whereby "a tiny ball set the whole globe in motion."

The 31st World Table Tennis Championships, held in Nagoya of Japan, in March and April 1971, provided a convenient venue for direct contact between China and the United States at a time when the two countries had no diplomatic ties. There was amicable interaction between the table tennis teams from China and the United States during the championships. Keenly sensing an opportunity for reengagement between China and the U.S., Chairman Mao Zedong extended an invitation to the U.S. table tennis team to visit China which was readily accepted by the Nixon Administration. The visit by a delegation of the USA Table Tennis (USATT) took place from April 10 to 17, 1971, and culminated in a cordial meeting with Premier Zhou Enlai. It was reciprocated by the Chinese table tennis team's visit to the U.S. on April 11, 1972.

Credited with ending a freeze of more than 20 years on personnel exchanges between the two countries, "ping-pong diplomacy" heralded a historic breakthrough in Sino-US relations, and helped propel the normalization of Sino-US relations and accelerate New China's return to the international stage.

乒乓外交

“乒乓外交”是指20世紀(jì)70時(shí)代初期中華人民共和國(guó)與美利堅(jiān)合眾國(guó)兩國(guó)乒乓球隊(duì)互訪的一系列事件。它開啟了中美關(guān)系緩和的步伐，被形象地比喻為“小球推動(dòng)大球”。

1971年3-4月，在日本名古屋舉行了第31屆世界乒乓球錦標(biāo)賽，為當(dāng)時(shí)尚未建交的中美兩國(guó)接觸提供了便利條件。兩國(guó)乒乓球隊(duì)在比賽期間進(jìn)行了友好的互動(dòng)。毛澤東主席敏銳地意識(shí)到這是中美接觸的一個(gè)契機(jī)，便決定邀請(qǐng)美國(guó)乒乓球隊(duì)訪華。尼克松政府很快決定接受邀請(qǐng)。1971年4月10日至17日，美國(guó)乒乓球協(xié)會(huì)代表團(tuán)訪華，受到了周恩來(lái)總理的親切接見。1972年4月11日，中國(guó)乒乓球隊(duì)回訪了美國(guó)。

“乒乓外交”結(jié)束了中美兩國(guó)20多年來(lái)人員交往隔絕的局面，中美和解隨即取得歷史性突破，推動(dòng)了中美兩國(guó)關(guān)系正常化的進(jìn)程，加速了新中國(guó)走向世界的步伐。