Table tennis: is this the return of "ping pong diplomacy"?

Virginie Phulpin 7:27 am, November 25, 2021

The table tennis world championships are taking place this week in Houston, United States. And they will see Americans and Chinese playing together, on the same team, in doubles. Quite a symbol as the United States threatens to diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics.

China and the United States together as a team. Admit that this does not happen every day. A small miracle that only sport can offer us. Two pairs of Sino-American mixed doubles are entered in the competition. Table tennis regulations authorize the association of players from different countries. Timing obviously matters. We're in the middle of the Peng Shuai affair. There are still waiting for the tennis player to finally be able to speak out freely and for her charges of rape against a former top executive to be followed up with a full investigation. And the United States, their media, their athletes are among the most active in asking for explanations. US President Joe Biden continues to raise the threat of a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games.So seeing sport and in this case ping pong bring the two powers together, that was not necessarily expected. The Chinese are at the origin of this initiative accepted by the Americans to form common doubles. There is necessarily communication in there, let's not be naive. Beijing did not expect this global outcry in support of Peng Shuai, and seeks to polish its image before the Olympics.

These Sino-American teams also celebrate a historic moment, the 50th anniversary of "ping pong diplomacy"

We're going to do some history. 1971. China and the United States do not have diplomatic relations at this time. But Mao Zedong is issuing an official invitation to the American table tennis team to come and do a series of friendlies in China. E Americans agree. So this is the start of what has been called ping-pong diplomacy. It must be said that it was nevertheless the first visit of an American delegation to Beijing since 1949. And proof of the usefulness of the sporting relations, a year later, in 1972, it is the American president Richard Nixon himself. even who visited China. So this week at the world championships, one of the Sino-American mixed doubles teams is among the favorites for the title. But the essential is elsewhere, you will have understood it. In the symbol.It is surprising because a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy criticized the Americans a few days ago for their threats to boycott the Olympics, saying that mixing politics and sport went against the Olympic spirit. Everyone has the right to change their mind. Ping pong diplomacy must also be that