When ping-pong helped put China-US diplomacy on the table before Nixon’s visit 50 years ago

In 1971, the US table tennis team was invited to make a historic trip to China. The visit would soon be hailed as the start of “ping-pong diplomacy” since it helped pave the way for the normalisation of China-US relations. Ten months later, Richard Nixon became the first US president to visit the People’s Republic of China. Later in 1972, the Chinese table tennis team was invited to tour the US.