Scholar reflects on Ping-Pong Diplomacy as China, US mark 55th anniversary

Ping-Pong Diplomacy was among Richard Nixon's greatest diplomatic achievements, said U.S. scholar Robert Kelly in an interview, as China and the United States mark the 55th anniversary of the table tennis exchange that opened the door to diplomatic relations.

Kelly, an assistant professor at American University, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Nixon made re-engaging China a central priority of his presidency, even as public opinion in the United States was skeptical of closer ties.

He said Nixon's determination to shift the discourse on China set the stage for a diplomatic breakthrough.

"One of his (Nixon's) greatest diplomatic achievements was really steering the discourse to be receptive to a restarted relationship with China. He was talking about it in the mid-1960s, and when he became president, it was one of his top priorities. And when he brought Henry Kissinger on [board], he said, 'This is one of my top priorities. We can't have a world in which China is ostracized. A country of that size with so much to offer, we can't just pretend that it doesn't exist. So we've got to find a way to re-engage.' And that set in motion, despite a lot of the public mood not being in favor of it. Again, because rhetoric had not made it very palatable for the American public to go there. That's why Kissinger had to pursue these things in secret in the summer of 1971 to create the ripe moment for Nixon to come in February 1972," Kelly said.

In April 1971, nine players from the U.S. Table Tennis team took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades. Their trip helped lay the groundwork for the establishment of official diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

Later that year, then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger secretly visited Beijing in July, paving the way for a groundbreaking 1972 meeting in Beijing between Nixon and China's late Chairman Mao Zedong.

On Feb 28, 1972, as Nixon's visit drew to an end, the historic Shanghai Communique was issued, becoming the political foundation for normalizing China-U.S. relations.

The two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1979.

Scholar reflects on Ping-Pong Diplomacy as China, US mark 55th anniversary

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te over his latest remarks on cross-Strait relations, accusing him of promoting secessionism and escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a press release that Lai's speech marking his second anniversary in office was "filled with lies and deception, hostility and confrontation."

Chen accused Lai of stubbornly adhering to a secessionist stance in pursuit of "Taiwan independence," while exaggerating the so-called threats from the mainland and intensifying confrontation across the Strait.

Lai played an old trick of advocating the secessionist agenda on one hand and, on the other, calling insincerely for dialogue and exchanges with the mainland, attempting to mislead people in Taiwan and deceive the international community, he said.

Chen said that these common tricks have been seen through by more and more Taiwanese people. Their deceptive and provocative actions will be met with firm opposition from compatriots on both sides and the international community, and are doomed to fail.

Reaffirming the mainland's position on the Taiwan question, Chen said Taiwan has never been a country, is not one now, and will never become one in the future.

He described the Taiwan question as a historical issue left over from a Chinese civil war in the 1940s.

No election result in Taiwan could alter the fact that Taiwan is part of China or sever the historical and legal bonds linking the two sides of the Strait, according to Chen.

The mainland would never allow any person or force to pursue secessionist activities under any pretext, he added.

Calling secessionists "the chief culprit" who undermines cross-Strait peace, Chen said the mainland would continue to uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, unite broadly with Taiwan compatriots, combat secessionist activities, and safeguard peace and stability across the Strait.

Central government spokesperson refutes Lai Ching-te's latest remarks, warns against secessionist moves