Anyone for table tennis? Five decades of major milestones in China’s diplomatic ties with US

Ahead of President Xi Jinping’s first visit to the United States as head of state on Tuesday, we look back at some major milestones of Sino-US relations that span almost five decades. READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Xi Jinping’s US visit: itinerary, issues and delegation 1967: opening diplomatic links with China In 1967 – the year before he won the election to be US president – Richard Nixon began to lay the groundwork for future diplomatic ties between China and the US. “There is no place on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation.” Nixon wrote in an article in Foreign Affairs, a US foreign policy journal. April 1971: ‘Ping-Pong diplomacy’ The US table tennis team competing at the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, in Japan, on April 6, 1971 received an invitation from the Chinese government, through the national team, to make an all-expenses paid trip to the mainland. Joined by a group of US journalists, they became the first group of American delegates to visit the mainland since the Communist Party leader Mao Zedong had claimed power in 1949. On April 10, the American players arrived in China at the start of a week-long trip, which involved them taking part in exhibition games, and a tour of the Great Wall of China and the Summer Palace in Beijing. “I am confident that this beginning again of our friendship will certainly meet with majority support of our two peoples,” said Zhou Enlai, then Chinese premier, during a banquet at the Great Hall of the People. The visit was seen around the world as helping to break the ice between the two nations and paved the way for future Sino-US diplomatic ties. February 1972: first US president to visit China Nixon became the first US president to visit China when he and first lady Pat Nixon landed in Beijing to meet Chinese leader Mao Zedong on February 21, 1972. His eight-day trip to China was widely televised around the world. On February 28, Nixon also issued the Sino-US Joint Communiqué, of Shanghai Communiqué, which declared that Taiwan was a part of China – the first time a US president had acknowledged it. Nixon and China’s then premier Zhou Enlai discussed normalising relations between the two countries during the visit, which Nixon called “the week that changed the world”. He also toured cultural sites and visited the cities of Hangzhou and Shanghai. “Never before in history has a sport been used so effectively as a tool of international diplomacy,” Zhou said, referring to the “Ping-pong diplomacy” of 1971, during a banquet with Nixon. April 1972: gift of pandas to US Two giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, arrived at the National Zoo in the US capital, Washington, on April 16, 1972, as gifts of friendship by Beijing following Nixon’s historic visit. Nearly 20,000 visitors stood in line to catch a glimpse of China’s first “furry ambassadors”.The pair had five cubs while living at the zoo, but none survived. Ling-Ling died of heart failure in 1992 at the age of 23, while Hsing-Hsing died of kidney disease in 1999, aged 28. January 1979: first Chinese leader to visit US In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then China’s vice-premier, became the first mainland leader to visit the US since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was established. On January 29, Deng met then-US president Jimmy Carter to sign new accords that cemented diplomatic relations between the two countries. Nixon was invited to meet Deng at the state dinner in Washington. Carter and Deng also signed agreements to cooperate in a number of areas, including science and technology, education and commerce. On February 2, Deng attended a rodeo in Texas and was pictured waving to crowds with his cowboy hat. 1989-1996: a period of tense relations The Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989 saw hundreds – possibly more than 1,000 people killed – after Communist Party leaders called in the military to end large-scale street demonstrations by force after branding the crowds of pro-democracy protesters “a counter revolutionary riot”. News reports sparked criticism around the world, and led to tensions between the US and China. Later the US imposed sanctions against China, including suspending the sale of arms and other exports to China. The US also developed closer ties with Taiwan, including approving the 1992 sale of 150 F-16 fighter jets to Taipei, which led to even more hostile Sino-US relations. In 1993, the US began to use economic leverage to put pressure on the Chinese government over human rights issues. In March 1996, tensions between the two nations came to a head when China held missile tests across the Taiwan Strait prior to Taiwan’s presidential election. It led to the US sending two aircraft carriers and other warships to the area as a precaution. October-November 1997: repairing tense relations Then-president Jiang Zemin visited the US at the invitation of his American counterpart, Bill Clinton, on October 27, 1997. During his trip he met more than 30 US state senators and gave a speech at Harvard University, where he emphasised the need to resolve differences and improve Sino-US relations. June-July 1998: first US presidential visit after Tiananmen Square crackdown Clinton became the first US leader to visit China since the Tiananmen Square crackdown during a state visit from June 25 to July 3, 1998. On June 28, he was photographed visiting the Beijing’s Great Wall and the Forbidden City with his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Chelsea. Although Clinton condemned the crackdown, he voiced his support for the mainland’s “One-China” policy. May 1999: US bombing on Chinese embassy in Belgrade A US airstrike hit the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, in Serbia, on May 7, 1999, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring 20 others. Clinton apologised for the incident, saying it had been accidental. The Chinese public was outraged, with thousands of students across the nation protesting against the Nato bombing, which led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. April 2001: US spy plane collides with Chinese jet A US spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea on April 1, 2001, killing the Chinese pilot. The US plane had to make a forced landing on Hainan Island without permission. China accused the US of ramming its aircraft into the Chinese jet, and the dispute led to 24 members of the plane’s American crew being detained for nine days. The crew were later released and arrived back in the US on April 12. October 2001: China and US leaders united over War on Terror China’s then-president Jiang Zemin and his US counterpart, George W. Bush, gave a joint press conference in Shanghai on October 19, 2001, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting. Bush praised China for showing its support for the US in cracking down on terrorism following the September 11 attacks. The two leaders also said they were striving to promote economic growth and develop constructive relations. November 2009: Obama’s maiden visit to China US President Barack Obama met China’s then president Hu Jintao in Shanghai and Beijing during a three-day trip to the mainland from November 15 to 18, 2009, as part of a 10-day tour of Asia. The trip drew contrasting reactions from mainland and American media. China’s state newspapers unanimously hailed the visit as a new starting point for Sino-US ties in years to come. However, Obama’s remarks on human rights and his call for Beijing to engage in dialogue with representatives of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, were barely reported by the mainland press. February 2012: Xi Jinping’s US visit as vice-president In 2012, then vice-president Xi met US President Barack Obama, the Vice-President Joe Biden and then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton during a five-day trip to the US from February 13 to 17. His stay also included a return visit to Iowa; he first visited the state as a young man while on an agricultural research trip in 1985. The meetings between Xi and Obama covered a wide range of topics, including developing closer economic ties in the wake of China’s fast-growing economy. Hundreds of protesters had also gathered outside the Pentagon in Washington, calling for the Chinese to end repressive policies in Tibet and Xinjiang. September 2015: President Xi’s state visit Xi’s first state visit to the US, from Tuesday until next Monday, will see him travel to Seattle, in Washington state, before going to the US capital, Washington, and New York. READ MORE: President Xi Jinping’s trip to US city of Seattle highlights Washington state’s China ties As the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Xi and Obama are due to talk about issues including cybersecurity, territorial disputes, and also increasing market access between the two countries. Sources: US Department of State: Office of the Historian, History in the Headlines, USEmbassy.gov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Anyone for table tennis? Five decades of major milestones in China’s diplomatic ties with US

.css-jfmysa{display:inline;word-break:break-word;}.css-1ankfgb{cursor:pointer;display:inline;word-break:break-word;}READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Xi Jinping’s US visit: itinerary, issues and delegation

1967: opening diplomatic links with China

April 1971: ‘Ping-Pong diplomacy’

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Xi Jinping’s US visit: itinerary, issues and delegation