Chinese and American players will form a multinational team to participate in the World Table Tennis Mixed Doubles event, which makes people look forward to the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” initiated by China and the United States in 1971, which was known as “small ball spinning big ball.” Can the small ball change the strategic competitive relationship between China and the US? Can the two countries resume their cooperation in science and technology? It’s a long story.
First look back at the story of “Ping Pong Diplomacy”: After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the hostility between China and the United States remained in the 1970s. At that time, Gallup public opinion showed that most Americans opposed the restoration of China’s seat in the United Nations. After that, 45% of the public opinion in the United States turned to support and 38% opposed, and supporters surpassed opponents for the first time. So the world pattern changed, the small ball turned the big ball.
A new report from the Pew Research Center in March this year showed that 89% of Americans believe that China is a competitor/adversary, not a partner; nearly 50% believe that the priority goal of American diplomacy is to contain China. Of course, it also said that most people in the United States do not think it needs to cooperate with China in science and technology.
In the 1980s, the United States finally agreed to sell an IBM supercomputer to the Chinese Ministry of Petroleum Industry. However, it was a humiliation. The IBM supercomputer was placed in a glass room and monitored by American personnel around the clock. Chinese engineers wanted to obtain It can be used only after the U.S. side approves it. Every detail must be strictly recorded and a report written and sent back to the U.S. The purpose is to prevent China from acquiring the relevant technology. You must know that this supercomputer is not a free trial, and China has to pay sky-high money in exchange for it.
Being subject to the US technology blockade is no longer what it is today. There is also a humiliation about glass called the “glass snail” incident. In 1973, in order to create a friendly atmosphere and satisfy China’s introduction of color TV production, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) received official approval to conduct technical cooperation with China. After the Chinese representatives visited RCA, they went to Corning, which produces cutting-edge picture tube glass. (Corning) During the visit, this company actually gave a glass snail as a souvenir to China. What’s the meaning? Do you want to satirize China’s technological backwardness like a snail? The Chinese leadership signaled to shelve the entire plan and switch to cooperating with Japan. In 1979, the development of China’s color TV was blocked for several years, and it had to pay more than twice the price to purchase color TV technology from Japan.
It is the general trend that the United States will play ping-pong with China. It has to do with the United States’ defeat in the Vietnam War. The more than ten years of the Vietnam War cost at least $250 billion in military expenditures, and the United States’ international status has declined accordingly. After taking office as President of the United States, Nixon, in order to get rid of the quagmire of the Vietnam War and seek to counter the Soviet Union, he chose to make peace with China, but the United States will not sincerely help China’s science and technology take off.
China understands that “the key core technology is not available, can’t be bought, and can’t be bought.” Since 1978, China has been dull to develop the domestically produced “Tianhe One” supercomputer. Last year, it has developed to the “Tianhe III” “No.” uses Chinese chips, which is 1,000 times faster than “Tianhe No. 1”. Furthermore, Corning, which gave the glass snails, is currently a major manufacturer of mobile phone screens, and China is its largest buyer, and its business is doing very well, and that RCA has been in the company for a long time.
The chip is the American technology trump card. (IBM picture)
The United States has never let go of Chinese supercomputers. In recent years, the chip ban has been pursued in this direction. Unexpectedly, China has achieved a quantum computer 10 million times faster than the fastest supercomputer. For the development of China, China may not be able to use American chip technology. In turn, the United States may ask China to share technology with it. As for Corning, which relies on domestically-made smartphones to eat food, it is more humble to China. Can you find another such a large buyer? If so, the United States may think of “ping-pong diplomacy.” Okay, let’s stay with us to the end.
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