How ping-pong diplomacy broke the mold

Shanghai's key role

In recent decades, Shanghai, a must-visit destination for many foreigners, has witnessed a series of memorable events testifying to China's advancing and changing interactions with the US.

The city hosted both the US table tennis team in 1971 and Nixon the following year.

According to veteran diplomats, interactions between China and the US in Shanghai, and what they have achieved in the city in past decades, are part of the two countries' shared legacy and are lessons that need to be passed on.

The diplomats said the two countries' policymakers also need to keep cool heads, develop new policy approaches and bolster mutual engagement to ensure that bilateral problematic and rapidly changing issues do not spiral into a crisis or dampen either nation's growth prospects.

At the end of Nixon's historic trip, the Chinese and US governments issued the Shanghai Communique — the first landmark bilateral joint statement that served as a prelude to them establishing diplomatic relations in 1979.

Since then, Shanghai has been the venue for other crucial events, such as the first one-on-one meeting between President Jiang Zemin and his US counterpart George W. Bush in 2001, as well as the latest round of bilateral high-level economic and trade consultations in July.

Alongside consensus that has been reached, Beijing and Washington have experienced differences to a varying degree in recent decades.

US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told local media during a visit to the Iowa State Fair in the US in mid-August, "We're back at the bargaining table, but we've got some big differences."

Da Wei, assistant president of the University of International Relations in Beijing and an expert on US studies, said a strategic perspective is needed in tackling China-US ties, and "both sides should be confident in themselves and should not attribute their failures to each other".

To prevent the two countries edging toward another "cold war", Da said they should keep their competition healthy, under control and expand two-way cooperation.

They should also exercise effective crisis management to guard against "unintended accidents or disturbance from a third party", Da added.

Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, said at a reception in Washington on Aug 1, "The ever-deepening China-US cooperation that spans the Pacific Ocean has not only advanced our own development, but also benefited the whole world.

With this year marking the 40th anniversary of Sino-US diplomatic ties, Cui said, "One thing that we have learned from the past four decades is that both countries benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation."