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Michigan's ties to China remain strong despite trade war
Once again, table tennis helped illustrate the important role Detroit has played in Chinese-American relations.
State Rep. Cynthia Johnson and Chinese Consul General Zhao Jian had a friendly game earlier this month at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center during an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China.
It was 47 years ago when a series of table tennis exhibitions were held in Detroit, Ann Arbor and other cities. Known as “ping-pong diplomacy” it showcased world-class table tennis players from the United States and the People's Republic of China.
The Chinese government had invited the American team to visit. It marked the first time Americans were formally invited to the country since it adopted communism in 1949.
President Richard Nixon then visited Beijing in 1972. Two months later, the Chinese team landed in Detroit and played friendly matches in the Motor City and other cities.Ultimately, diplomatic relations were established on Jan. 1, 1979.
The Detroit China Day event was held Sept. 13 to celebrate that anniversary. It was hosted by the City of Detroit along with the North American Chinese Coalition as leaders from Detroit, Lansing, Chicago and a delegation from Chongqing were on hand.
“In these 40 years we have achieved greatly in economic trade cooperation. Detroit and Michigan played very important roles in the years leading up to the normalization of our bilateral relations,” Consul General Zhao, who was named to that post earlier this year. Zhao, based in Chicago, oversees several Midwest states including Michigan.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2019/09/21/michigan-china-ties-trade-war/2385600001/