Ping-Pong Diplomacy chalks up 50 years
Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the US, said in a video address to the anniversary event: "People use the phrase 'the little ball moves the big ball' to describe China-US Ping-Pong Diplomacy. It indeed went beyond sports exchanges and had a far-reaching impact on shaping China-US relations and the global landscape.
"Today, the China-US relationship faces a critical choice as to its future path. The two sides should carry forward the spirit of Ping-Pong Diplomacy featuring mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences … so as to ensure sustained and steady progress of our relations," he said.
James Heller, US consul general in Shanghai, said, "As Ping-Pong Diplomacy showed, sports can bridge differences and bring people together."
