A reception in Beijing Friday evening marked the 35th anniversary of "Ping-Pong diplomacy," which led to the normalization of China-US relations.

Senior Chinese officials, including vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Xu Kuangdi, Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US senior officials attended the reception which was hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Chinese and US participants hailed the wisdom and foresight of the two countries' then leaders and the enthusiasm of the two peoples, which forged the "Ping-Pong diplomacy."

A US table tennis team visited China in April 1971 at the invitation of their Chinese counterparts, which is the first US group to visit China since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

That visit broke the ice after two decades of frosty Sino-US relations and eventually led to full diplomatic ties.

 (Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2006)