Ping Pong Diplomacy: Celebrating the Legacy of a Chance Encounter

Even though University of Virginia’s China Office Director Justin O’Jack had never before played table tennis, he knew that this invitation to a ping-pong match could not be missed. The match was to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the United States table tennis team’s visit to China in April 1971.

The tour, which came to be known as “ping-pong diplomacy” by the American press, was seen as an important step toward thawing relations between China and the United States.