On April 12, 1972, the Chinese national ping pong team arrived in Detroit, the first unofficial visitors from the People’s Republic of China to the United States since the establishment of the PRC in 1949. One of the many excited people waiting on the tarmac to welcome the team was Jan Berris – at that time a program associate with the National Committee, now its vice president.
Fifty years later, on April 12, 2022, Jan Berris shares stories of the historic process – from the funny to the momentous – and reflects on the enduring legacy of Ping Pong Diplomacy on U.S.-China relations.
