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BEIJING — It was the small game of pingpong that got the big ball of diplomacy moving on U.S.-China relations, and on Wednesday, the two countries commemorated 30 years of formal ties with a friendly exhibition game of table tennis.
In 1971, a long-isolated China invited a U.S. table tennis team to visit Beijing — the first friendly overture in decades. The move helped pave the way for a historic visit by President Richard Nixon the following year. Washington and Beijing established formal ties on Jan. 1, 1979.
Among the players Wednesday was the youngest member of the original 1971 American team, Judy Bochenski Hoarfrost.
"Our mantra was 'friendship first, competition second,'" said Hoarfrost, now 50, of Portland, Ore. "I didn't know what impact it would have on the world. I was just playing table tennis. But I'm thrilled that pingpong and my part in pingpong has played a small role in diplomatic relations between China and the USA."
She described the difference between China then and now as "night and day."
"Now China is one of the most modern countries in the world, everything is here — modern communication, modern transportation, modern everything," she said. "In 1971, China was very isolationist and had been concentrating on other things than being part of the international community."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, flanked by his Chinese counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya and U.S. Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt, paused to look at photo displays of the historic visit before sitting down to watch Chinese and U.S. players play several matches.
"It (pingpong diplomacy) played a very important role, and of course now, after 30 years, we have a very broad and deep relationship," Negroponte said. "And I'm sure the next 30 years will be even better."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was originally scheduled to attend, but asked Negroponte to take her place so she could closely follow the Gaza crisis.
At the end of the matches, Negroponte was given a small gift — autographed pingpong paddles — by Liang Geliang, one of the original Chinese team members, who told reporters later that he hoped the "U.S.-China relationship would continue in the future."
Then Negroponte headed to private discussions with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
"Looking back, there have been some twists and turns in this relationship, but the China-U.S. relationship has on the whole moved forward," Yang said.
U.S. observers say the most serious strain came with China's 1989 crackdown on student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Hundreds are believed to have been killed, and a horrified U.S. backed away from — but did not entirely break ties with — the communist country. Taiwan, Tibet and human rights are also sources of tension.
As relations with China improved, Washington cut diplomatic ties with Beijing's rival Taiwan, although it continues to maintain close informal relations with the self-governing island, providing it with armaments to counter Chinese threats.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers Taiwan a part of its territory and countries must choose which capital to recognize.
In the decades since ties were established, U.S.-China contacts have expanded in several fields, from booming economic ties and student exchanges to close consultation on international issues, such as North Korea's nuclear program and climate change.
More than 81,000 Chinese students were studying at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2007-2008 academic year, according to Institute of International Education figures released in November. More than 11,000 American students were studying in China.
