Ping Pong Diplomacy 1971

In 1971, China stunned the world when they invited the England, United States of America, Canadian and Columbian table tennis teams to visit them for a series of friendly table tennis matches.

I've asked a good friend of mine, Tony Clayton, who was part of the England team which went to China in 1971, to tell me his recollections about this historic time in the history of table tennis ... and how the media around the world covered the story with the universal headline of Ping Pong Diplomacy.

Well, from 1966 to 1969 the People's Republic of China was at the height of their Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Launched by Mao Zedong (aka: Mao Tse-Tung), Chairman of the Communist Party of China, on 16 May 1966, the Cultural Revolution was aimed at removing the "bourgeois" influences and regaining control of the party.

Some of the party leadership were removed from office and Mao was named supreme commander of the nation and army.

Millions were forced into manual labour, and tens of thousands were executed. The result was massive civil unrest, and the army was sent in to control student disorder.

At that time, China's contact with the outside world was limited ... and relations between China and the USA in particular were very tense.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) had maintained a formal correspondence with the Table Tennis Section of the People's Republic of China throughout the period of the Cultural Revolution, but any information about their actual playing activities only came by way of rumour via Taiwan and Hong Kong.

However, towards the end of 1970 and into the early months of 1971, it became apparent that China would attend the 1971 World Championships in Nagoya, Japan, having not taken part in 1967 or 1969 due to the Cultural Revolution.

Shortly before leaving for Japan in 1971, the President of the ITTF (Welshman, Roy Evans) was asked by the Chinese Charge d’Affairs in London if he would be prepared to go to Peking en route for Japan.

He readily agreed, not least because China had been the strongest table tennis nation in the world in 1965.

He then spent a couple of days in China, including attending a conference with Prime Minister Chou En-lai.

During their discussions, Chou En-lai expressed great pleasure at China's re-entry into world table tennis, and talked of further steps they could take to re-establish themselves quickly.

The President of the ITTF reminded him of the Peking Invitation Tournament they used to hold each August, and suggested its revival. He pointed out that all the strongest countries would be present in Nagoya, and that it would be a good opportunity to invite them to China after the World Championships.

Meanwhile, in the USA, events were also shaping up...

Richard Nixon had become President of the USA in 1969 and relations between China and the USA had begun to shift from one of confrontation to one of dialogue.

Nixon also started to adjust US policy towards China and in January 1970 the two countries resumed talks at ambassadorial level.

The majority of the media coverage relating to these historic table tennis matches inevitably centres around the USA and their team - who were not a major force in world table tennis - and ignores the England, Canadian and Columbian table tennis teams who also took part.

So therefore I've asked a good friend of mine, Tony Clayton, who was part of the England team which went to China in 1971, to tell me his recollections about this historic time in the history of table tennis ... and how the media around the world covered the story with the universal headline of Ping Pong Diplomacy.

At the time, Tony was a 20 year old student at Liverpool University.

Tony recalls...

"I was first reserve for the England team to go to the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships.

As I was a reserve, I'd had all my injections, but naturally I never expected to go.

But when Denis Neale and Chester Barnes had a dispute with the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA) just prior to the trip, I was called up with only 48 hours notice.

I was in the geography department when I got a message to ring the ETTA.

Of course, at the time, I thought I was just going to the Commonwealth Championships in Singapore and the World Championships in Japan ... but it turned into much more than that..."

Of course, prior to their historic visit to China in April 1971, the England table tennis team were competing in the 1st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Singapore, before travelling on to the 31st World Championships in Nagoya, Japan.

Tony managed to win a Commonwealth gold medal in the men's team event and a silver medal with Karenza Matthews in the mixed doubles. Then with his England team mates, he went on to finish in 10th position in the team event of the World Championships in Japan.

The Chairman of the ETTA, Charles Wyles, had invited the Chinese to England prior to the team leaving the UK, so he was hopeful of a reciprocal invitation.

However, the last time an England team had visited China was in 1961 - for the World Championships which were held in Peking.

But it was while the team were in Japan, that they learnt of their invitation to China...

Tony recalls...

"We were in China for 15 days, but a lot of the time was spent sightseeing.

We were taken to Peking, Shanghai and Tientsin, and we were shown around Palaces, communes, workers settlements, steelworks, watch makers, schools, department stores, markets, the Double Happiness table tennis ball factory, ballet and opera performances ... oh, and not forgetting the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China."

The England party included ETTA Chairman Charles Wyles, non-playing captain Brian Merrett, Pauline Piddock, Jill Shirley, Alan Hydes, Trevor Taylor and Tony Clayton.

Here's a picture of the England party with their hosts at the Great Wall. (Tony is third from the right).

Tony continued...

"The Chinese were really friendly but they were very curious too.

When we went into the streets we were immediately surrounded by people and they were fascinated by our clothes, especially the girls' mini skirts.

We visited a school and they were digging a hole in one corner of the playground. We later discovered that it was for an air raid shelter "for when the Americans attack". They were very afraid that they'd be attacked at that time.

The English lessons in school consisted of the children saying "We have boundless love for Chairman Mao" and "My father is a fighter in the People's Liberation Army".

One memory I still have is of the large pictures of Chairman Mao in the streets and in particular, one very large billboard which read..."

"But of course, we also played six matches against China, all of which attracted capacity crowds."

"Peking had crowds of 23,000 but other venues only had enough room for 6,500 spectators.

Every match was also attended by a number of important dignitaries ... such as the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Sport and the Vice-Chairman of the People's Council."

Here's a photo of the England v China match in Tientsin.

(Tony is playing on the table nearest the crowd, left-hand side)

"We won the series 4-2, but the top Chinese players were still in Japan. My game was suited to playing against the penhold style, and once I'd got used to it in Singapore, I did OK."

Here's a short video clip of Tony playing in China...

"It was a really wonderful experience visiting China and I think it certainly benefitted my game."

And from 21 to 28 February 1972, Nixon visited China.