U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, center, and China Vice Foreign Minister Wang... 
(Andy Wong/AP Photo)
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.
