Amanda Shuman (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781526131058
- eISBN:
- 9781526138873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526131058.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
A decade before official 'ping pong diplomacy', leaders in the People's Republic of China (PRC) used sports delegation visits to cultivate diplomatic relations with recently decolonized nations. In ...
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A decade before official 'ping pong diplomacy', leaders in the People's Republic of China (PRC) used sports delegation visits to cultivate diplomatic relations with recently decolonized nations. In the early 1960s, the Sino-Soviet split, the rise of various Afro-Asian movements, and decolonization in Africa led to intense Sino-Soviet competition for socialist influence in the Third World. Officially presented to the Chinese public as “friendly” sports exchanges, PRC leaders sought to expand their influence and prove that Chinese socialism under Mao as an alternative (and superior) model to that of the Soviet Union. The chapter, based primarily on declassified official reports from Chinese archives, begins with the first major PRC sports delegation sent to Africa in 1962, a contingent of well-known ping pong athletes. The visit helped Chinese leaders gather knowledge on new allies, officially express shared historical and political solidarities against colonialism and imperialism, and, through sport, demonstrate China's achievements through socialism. These visits sought to build diplomatic ties while promoting and shoring up support - foreign as well as domestic - for a Chinese brand of socialism that professed an alternative, non-Soviet path to socialist modernity.Less
A decade before official 'ping pong diplomacy', leaders in the People's Republic of China (PRC) used sports delegation visits to cultivate diplomatic relations with recently decolonized nations. In the early 1960s, the Sino-Soviet split, the rise of various Afro-Asian movements, and decolonization in Africa led to intense Sino-Soviet competition for socialist influence in the Third World. Officially presented to the Chinese public as “friendly” sports exchanges, PRC leaders sought to expand their influence and prove that Chinese socialism under Mao as an alternative (and superior) model to that of the Soviet Union. The chapter, based primarily on declassified official reports from Chinese archives, begins with the first major PRC sports delegation sent to Africa in 1962, a contingent of well-known ping pong athletes. The visit helped Chinese leaders gather knowledge on new allies, officially express shared historical and political solidarities against colonialism and imperialism, and, through sport, demonstrate China's achievements through socialism. These visits sought to build diplomatic ties while promoting and shoring up support - foreign as well as domestic - for a Chinese brand of socialism that professed an alternative, non-Soviet path to socialist modernity.
Jeremi Suri
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190226114
- eISBN:
- 9780190256784
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190226114.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
After more than two decades of estrangement, the opening of relations between the United States and China was one of the great diplomatic achievements of the late Cold War. American leaders pursued ...
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After more than two decades of estrangement, the opening of relations between the United States and China was one of the great diplomatic achievements of the late Cold War. American leaders pursued this opening with determination and foresight. They sent repeated signals of their seriousness, they worked through numerous partners, and they exhibited remarkable patience when their initial overtures received little response. Chinese leaders were cautious, but willing to assess evidence of changing American attitudes. Both sides emphasized points of possible agreement, and put off long-standing areas of disagreement. Secrecy facilitated early communications. President Nixon and National Security Assistant Henry Kissinger took serious political risks, especially when they traveled to Beijing, showing deference to Chinese traditions. Chairman Mao and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai showed adaptability, abandoning their ideological criticisms of the United States for diplomatic and strategic purposes. Energetic and focused diplomacy on both sides made the U.S. opening to China possible.Less
After more than two decades of estrangement, the opening of relations between the United States and China was one of the great diplomatic achievements of the late Cold War. American leaders pursued this opening with determination and foresight. They sent repeated signals of their seriousness, they worked through numerous partners, and they exhibited remarkable patience when their initial overtures received little response. Chinese leaders were cautious, but willing to assess evidence of changing American attitudes. Both sides emphasized points of possible agreement, and put off long-standing areas of disagreement. Secrecy facilitated early communications. President Nixon and National Security Assistant Henry Kissinger took serious political risks, especially when they traveled to Beijing, showing deference to Chinese traditions. Chairman Mao and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai showed adaptability, abandoning their ideological criticisms of the United States for diplomatic and strategic purposes. Energetic and focused diplomacy on both sides made the U.S. opening to China possible.
