Image via Smithsonian via AP |
... at the invitation of the Chinese government, a nine-person United States table tennis team, along with their spouses, team officials and a few selected journalists, visited China for a series of exhibition matches. So-called Ping-Pong diplomacy was born, helping to set the stage for President Richard Nixon’s visit in February 1972. “No one was envisioning that this dramatic trip to China would be a precursor to re-establishing diplomatic relations,” said Steve Bull, director of government relations for the U.S. Olympic Committee and a former Nixon aide ...