BEIJING – Almost 50 years ago, a group of American table tennis players made history when they set foot in China for a one-week visit and friendly matches, dubbed “ping pong diplomacy”, that broke the ice between China and the United States which fought each other during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Three months later, Dr Henry Kissinger, then national security adviser to US president Richard Nixon, made a secret trip to China – codenamed “Marco Polo” after the Venetian merchant who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road in the late 1200s. That trip paved the way for Mr Nixon’s landmark visit to China in 1972.

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