A ping-pong match was used by Mao to send a message to Nixon in 1971 at a time both Nations did not have diplomatic relations: --- Mao Zedon decided in 1969 to take advantage of an INTERNATIONAL PING-PONG MATCH to exchange secret messages between Mao and Richard Nixon.

In the case of the U.S. it was beneficial for Nixon & Henry Kissinger bacause they werre adamant to avoid carrying out communications by official channels to preserve secrecy in order to secure success of Nixon-Kissinger attempt to re-establish diplomatic relations (the effort could failed if made public, because -then- a complex process of authorizations inside the U.S. government and consultations with international partners would have to be exhausted. In the case of China, Mao and Zhou Enlai wanted to preserve face inside China as the U.S. was an enemy they fought at Korea):

The U.S. and China did not have embassies before them. A previous U.S. effort to send a Nixon's message to Mao failed at a Yugoslavian Fashion Couture at Varsovia, Poland, in 1969 (when noticing U.S. diplomats were trying to get close to them, the Chinese diplomats ron away from the place refusing to stop after being chased by the U.S. ambassador to Poland who shouted at them in Polish to wait). Afterwards a couple of exchanges took place between the U.S. and China ambassadors to Poland.

In 1969 a ping-pong international tournament was held in Japan, with the participation of a Chinese team for the first time since the beginning of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

In response to Nixon's messages transmitted in January of 1971, Mao instructed suddenly to act -immediately- to have the Chinese team extending and invitation to the U.S. team to visit China and play a match there in April of 1971. Zhou Enlai received the U.S. players at the People's Great Saloon on April 14 (an honor not confer to many ambassadors).

Zhou Enlai said to them: "You have open a new chapter in the relations of the Chinese people and the U.S: people. I triust the beginning of our friendship will have the support of the majority of our peoples. Don't you agree?"

Kissinger, Henry, ON CHINA, Random House Mondadori, 2011 (pp. 237-251 of the 2012 Spanish Debate's edition).

Eric Suzán Reed 08-12-2021 19:27

Source author: Eric Suzán Reed esuzan@sre.gob.mx