WASHINGTON -- At an event at the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. on Wednesday, Ambassador Xie Feng took off his jacket before showing off his table tennis skills. He was facing off against Connie Mae Sweeris, one of the nine players from a U.S. table tennis team that made a historic trip to China in 1971.
The visit paved the way for President Richard Nixon to visit China the following year, a landmark in the rivals' diplomatic history. Dubbed the 52nd Anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Wednesday's event was an attempt to strike a positive tone by highlighting one of the warmer periods of bilateral relations.
