Saturday, February 1, 2025

Ping Pong Diplomacy Led to Normalizing Relations Between China and the U.S. and the Game Has Kept 92 Year Old Ivan Pedley Alive and Well

 

China opened its doors to the Western World and the U.S. with the diplomacy of ping pong
A sport in which they excelled at a time when in relations between China and the U.S. diplomacy seemed not to belong
A chance meeting between U.S. Table Tennis player Glenn Cowan and Chinese player Zhuang Zedong at the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan in 1971 took place
On the bus the two exchanged gifts as athletes the failure to do so would bring both in the sporting world disgrace
Which was quickly followed by an invitation for the U.S. Table Team to visit China between the two teams matches play
An example of the power of sports to defuse the desire of warring parties to try to each other slay
Leading to President Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972
Opening the door to normalizing relations between the 2
Sadly those early seeds of defusing hostilities between the 2 has not born fruit
As China has threatened Taiwan, engaged in an arms race and trade practices that were unfair and continued to our IP loot
While ping pong diplomacy did not survive for long
As a tool to extend life expectancy it still belongs
Ivan Pedley, a 92 year old retired toolmaker, plays ping pong twice a week
That he believes is the secret to a long life being able to seek
© 2/1/2025 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet

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