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Ping Pong Diplomacy: Artifacts from the Historic 1971 U.S. Table Tennis Trip to China [1]

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Date: 2021-08-05 13:39:33-04:00

In April 1971, 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 the People’s Republic of 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 the People’s Republic of China. Ping pong diplomacy also led to improved people-to-people understanding and cultural exchange.

Connie Sweeris, one of the nine players who traveled to China, recently donated a collection of personal mementos from that 1971 trip, as well as subsequent anniversary trips, to the National Museum of American Diplomacy’s permanent collection. The museum is thrilled to share these items with the public and to include them in future exhibits and programming.

The Beginning of Ping Pong Diplomacy: A Surprise Invitation

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.”

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[1] Url: https://diplomacy.state.gov/artifact-collection-highlights/ping-pong-diplomacy-historic-1971-u-s-table-tennis-trip-to-china/

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