In recognition of the NCUSCR's 45th anniversary, celebrated in 2011, the following pages contain 45 of the better- and lesser-known facts about the National Committee.
| Facts #6-9 >> |
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 The National Committee's granddaddy project of them all, the April 1972 visit of the Chinese Table Tennis Team to the United States, not only made history by making "Ping Pong Diplomacy" into a household expression, but changed the NCUSCR's trajectory from its former focus on public education to becoming the premier organization capable of arranging exchanges between the United States and China — a focus the Committee has embraced ever since. |
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 Should the Committee host an event — as we hope to — for Vice President Xi Jinping on his expected U.S. visit early in 2012, he and his father, Xi Zhongxun, will join the company of other notable father-son duos who have participated in our programs. (The senior Xi led a 1980 provincial leaders delegation when he was Guangdong’s governor.) Other father-son pairs include Deng Xiaoping and Deng Pufang; and Zhu Rongji and Zhu Yunlai. |
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 Providing participants an up-close perspective on life inside an American home and the opportunity to form close friendships with their hosts, local homestays have long been a feature of Committee itineraries for Chinese delegations visiting the United States. Although visitors often express trepidation ahead of time, afterwards they regularly cite their homestays as highlights of their visits. Over the years, hundreds of Committee friends have graciously welcomed Chinese visitors into their homes, starting with the first Scholar Orientation Program in 1980 and continuing to the present day and we continue to be grateful for these wonderful acts of generosity. |
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 Although we are often asked about our offices in China or Washington, DC, the Committee has, in fact, always and only been located in New York City, although we did have temporary quarters in a supporter's office in San Francisco in the first month or so of our existence. In 1966 we opened our first real office, in the United Nations' Church Center Building. In 1995, the Committee moved to the Masonic Hall on West 23rd Street, where we’ve been ever since. |
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 As part of our mission to increase the exchange of ideas through public education, the National Committee has hosted scores of book programs, lectures, conference calls, and off-the-record conversations that provide opportunities for our membership and others in the community to stay abreast of developments in U.S.-China relations. In 2011 alone we hosted nine book programs featuring authors such as Secretary Henry Kissinger, journalist Richard McGregor, and scholar Susan Shirk; a forum on China’s economy in 2011 with several leading economists from China; a conference call on Vice-President Biden’s trip to China; a discussion with Admiral Robert Willard, head of the Pacific Command; and many others for a total of 21 public events. |
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| Facts #6-9 >> |
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