China News Agency, Beijing, April 9th, title: 50 years of "ping-pong diplomacy", China and the United States still need great wisdom in the small ball

　　China News Agency reporter Xing Chong

　　During the World Table Tennis Championships held in Japan in 1971, American table tennis player Cohen got on the bus of the Chinese team by mistake. Chinese athlete Zhuang Zedong stepped forward and spoke on his own initiative and presented a piece of Chinese brocade with the scenery of Huangshan as a souvenir. Cohen the next day Rebate a T-shirt with the words "LET IT BE" printed on it, which means a call for peace.

　　The friendly interaction between the athletes of the two countries during the competition has attracted wide attention.

At the end of the game, China invited the US table tennis team to visit China.

Taking sports exchanges as an opportunity, China and the United States have gradually pushed the relationship to break the ice.

On April 10, 1971, the US table tennis team officially visited China. In July of the same year, Secretary of State Kissinger visited China secretly; President Nixon visited China in February of the following year, and the Chinese table tennis team visited the United States in April... "Ping pong diplomacy" continues to connotate Rich, to achieve the feat of "the small ball turns the big ball".

　　Since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 40 years ago, China and the United States have achieved fruitful results in economic and trade exchanges, cultural exchanges, and joint responses to global issues.

It is the increasingly close "you come and me" that converge into the "sea of ​​stars" for the development of Sino-US relations.

Practice has proved that dialogue is better than confrontation and cooperation is better than confrontation. Seeking common ground while reserving differences and seeking common development is the general trend and the common aspiration of the people.

　　At present, the epidemic situation in the century and the changes in a century are superimposed and turbulent, and Sino-US relations are facing new challenges.

Especially in the past few years, China-US relations have faced the most difficult situation since the establishment of diplomatic relations due to the extremely erroneous anti-China policy adopted by the previous US administration.

　　In this context, President Biden came to power and the relationship between the two countries entered a new "window period."

This year's Lunar New Year's Eve, the heads of state of China and the United States made the first phone call, pointing out the direction for Sino-US relations at a crossroads.

Not long ago in Anchorage, China and the United States through constructive communication to find a way to get along with big countries has become a necessary interaction in efforts to repair the relationship between the two countries.

　　At this critical moment, China and the United States still need the great wisdom in the small ball of "ping-pong diplomacy" if they want to get back on track.

　　-Promote dialogue with mutual respect.

　　Respect for opponents is not only the basic spirit of sports competitions including table tennis matches, but also the basic principles that should be observed in the interactions between people and countries.

Mutual respect does not focus solely on specific matters, but handles bilateral relations with this attitude and spirit.

　　China has repeatedly made it clear that it does not intend to challenge the status of the United States, nor does it intend to replace the United States. This is a respect for the United States; accordingly, the United States should also respect the Chinese people's choice of social system and development path.

Only with genuine mutual respect can the improvement and development of relations between the two countries be stable and far-reaching.

　　——Promote cooperation with sincerity and goodwill.

　　When the American table tennis team visited China 50 years ago, the Chinese side specially arranged for Chinese and American players to mix and match doubles to increase the excitement of the game. The athletes of the two countries showed sincerity and goodwill in cooperation to each other and the world in the combination.

Now that the world has entered a post-epidemic era, global challenges are emerging one after another. The space where China and the United States can cooperate is not narrowed, but wider.

More dialogue and cooperation and less zero-sum games are expected by all parties in the international community and are also the general trend of history.

　　In the stadium, "you come and go" is wonderful, and "you chase me" make progress together.

As far as Sino-US relations are concerned, in order to open a new window of hope, it is also necessary to seek development through cooperation, push the relationship back on track, and jointly contribute to the world.

　　Under the current situation, the two sides can start from people-to-people exchanges, from easy to difficult, and continue to accumulate goodwill through non-governmental interaction.

The top priority is to remove obstacles to cooperation in the humanities field. For example, the United States should promptly stop imposing barriers to cultural exchanges between the two countries, imposing malicious sanctions on companies or individuals, and unreasonably deterring U.S. people from all walks of life in their rude practices in China—just as sports stadiums should not pass. Deprive other athletes of their legitimate rights to improve themselves.

Unblocking channels for people-to-people and cultural exchanges will help China-US relations continue to "the small ball turns the big ball" and the trickle converges into the ocean.

　　Fifty years ago, Chinese and American athletes transcended differences in systems and ideologies, broke conventions, and took a crucial step in friendly exchanges.

"According to the trend and changing with the times", the small ball wisdom in "ping-pong diplomacy" is precious.

At present, Sino-US relations in a critical period must also have the courage to break the norm. Just as many years ago, in an attitude of being responsible to the people of the two countries and the international community, once again make a wise and correct choice.

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