Ping Pong Diplomacy

In later years of the Cold War, relationships between the U.S and China were especially tense in large part due to diplomatic silence. China and the U.S. had not had direct contact for decades. However, as relationships between China and the Soviet Union went soured during the early 1970s, both the U.S. and China were open to potential communication and diplomacy. On the Chinese side, Chairman Mao thought that alliance with the U.S. could prove beneficial to keeping the Russians out, while on the U.S. side, Nixon had heavily prioritized China in his foreign policy.

Glenn Cowan and Zhuang Zedong Exchanging Gifts

Although the countries commenced secretive communications, a surprising encounter occurred during the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan that became widespread news. 19 year old Glenn Cowan, representing the United States, boarded a bus that was shuttling the Chinese national time. Zhuang Zedong, one of the team's best players, greeted Cowan and shook his hand. They exchanged gifts, Zhuang gifting a picture of the Huangshan mountains, and Cowan, a hippie, gifting a shirt with a peace symbol and the lyrics "Let It Be," written by the popular Beatles. This incident was photographed and transformed into a popular topic.

Chairman Mao initially wanted the Chinese team to avoid the Americans, but after receiving news about the exchange between Cowan and Zhuang, decided to invite the American team to China, reportedly claiming that "Zhang Zedong is not just a good table tennis player, he's a good diplomat as well." President Nixon was understandably surprised, especially that potential diplomacy would come as a result of a ping-pong team, but he accepted.

The U.S. ping-pong team was filled with people anywhere from hippies, college professors, and high school girls. No one on the team was quite established, yet in the span of a few days they changed from relatively unknown people to the most important American diplomats at the time.

The event proved to be a major player in the thawing of Chinese-American relationships, as a short time later, President Nixon eased travel bans and trade embargoes towards China. Back-channel communication between the two countries opened, and eventually, President Nixon met Chairman Mao and began to ease the countries' relationship. The Chinese national team also traveled to the United States to tour.

Looking back at the heavy chain of events, it's intriguing to consider what would have been different if it weren't for the impromptu camaraderie that existed between a U.S. hippie ping-pong player and a Chinese three-time world champion.


Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/ping-pong-diplomacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_Zedong
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-25836922/how-ping-pong-diplomacy-brought-nixon-to-china
https://www.si.com/more-sports/2008/06/11/opening-volley0616