I visited the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda California last week, specifically to look at the room designated to Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972.  He referred to this later as the week that changed the world.  No official visits had been made by Americans since the founding of the PRC. When Nixon met with Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao it was the first steps towards normalizing Sino-American relationships.

As you enter this room you are met with a case of ping-pong balls. That is because what thawed the relationship was another visit by our USA ping-pong players in April 1971. They spent 10 days traveling through Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. The games often carried a banner reading “Friendship First and Competition Second.”  Our team was only ranked 24th in the world and already Chinese ping pong was leading the world. In that spirit of friendship, the Americans were sometimes permitted to “win” or at least to “score.” 

Last year Word4Asia Consulting was invited to co-chair the first international friendship tournament in the past 50 years. Much like the era of the late 1960s and 1970s there are admitted tensions in Sino-American relationships today. We do not intend to be involved in official political diplomacy.  However, the itinerary for our team is not only to compete in the Olympic Venue in Nanjing, but to do several exhibits in local clubs and in Shanghai. We wish to be ambassadors for peace and harmony.

Our team will boast one two-time Olympian, some USA tennis table hall of famers, and other 2400+ rated players. We could win, but we mostly wish to leave a positive image of the USA for the thousands who observe our play and behavior.

Zhou Enlai famously stated…the small ball moves the big ball.

50 years later it is still working to build bridges for healthy international relationships.

While ping pong diplomacy is new to Word4Asia, we have been building this bridge for 25 years. Good old relationships take a long time.