Reflecting on 50th anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy on both sides of the Pacific amid stalemate in ties Zhao Yusha Published: Apr 09, 2021 10:07 PM Updated: Apr 10, 2021 12:08 AM American player Glenn Cowan (right) shakes hands with Chinese player Zhuang Zedong(center) after getting off a bus for Chinese players during the 31st World Table Tennis Championships on April 4, 1971 in Nagoya, Japan. Glenn Cowan, who missed a bus for his own team, accidentally boarded a bus for Chinese players, which led to a domino of events that saw the normalization the China-US relationship. File photo: VCG Half a century ago, no one expected the visit of a group of American table tennis players to China would change the global landscape so dramatically. Now, with China and the US back in a period of such uncertainty in relations as observers point to almost a new Cold War, many observers are seeking signs whether something similar to the ping-pong diplomacy could be found to break the ice for the world's most important bilateral relations.