A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 10, 1971, the U.S. table tennis team arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as “ping-pong diplomacy.”
That year, nine players from the U.S. Table Tennis team took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit the country in decades. Following the 1949 Chinese revolution, there had been no diplomatic ties, limited trade and few contacts between the United States and China.
Their trip was the start of what became known as “ping-pong diplomacy” and helped lay the groundwork for establishing official diplomatic relations between the United States and China. Ping-pong diplomacy also led to improved people-to-people understanding and cultural exchange.
According to historical accounts, the U.S. team was at the 1971 World Table Tennis Championship in Nagoya, Japan, when an encounter between Glenn Cowan of the U.S. team and Zhuang Zedong of the Chinese team became an international sensation. Cowan had missed his bus following practice and boarded the Chinese team’s bus. Zhuang approached the American, shaking his hand and offering him a depiction of the Huangshan Mountains on a piece of silk cloth.
When they exited the bus, journalists snapped photos of the two together. Two days later, the U.S. team received an official invitation to travel to China and play exhibition matches against the Chinese team. The United States accepted the invitation and everyone rushed to make arrangements.
U.S. Department of State consular officials in Japan, in advance of the team’s onward journey to China, made a simple but profound change to their passports. On the page warning travelers of legal penalties “for travel to or in Communist-controlled portions” of the listed countries, the officials simply took a black marker and carefully crossed-out “China.”
The headlines in the Deseret News in in mid-April followed the daily interactions with the American athletes.
“Tennis players in Red China”
“Small hope opens in Red China Wall”
“Table tennis team will talk with China”
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon made a trip to China. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the trip and diplomacy with China:
“Was Mao monster or Chinese hero?”
“Mao mementos a click away”
“Nixon’s visit to China 20 years ago changed history”
“Soccer may help smooth ties between U.S., China”
“Qatar outreach widens with ping pong ‘diplomacy’”
“Deseret News archives: Nixon’s trip to China concluded with a promise and a couple of pandas”
