“I like Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha, and I also like left-handed players such as Wang Chuqin, because I play left-handed too,” said Kent Watkins, the 89-year-old Chairman of the American Academy of Housing and Communities, with his eyes lighting up as he talked about table tennis in an interview. “I am now a new fan of table tennis.”
Kent Watkins in the interview
As China and the U.S. mark the 55th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Watkins led a delegation of table tennis players from U.S. universities and trainees from table tennis clubs on a visit to Beijing for a series of friendly exchange activities.
Fifty-five years ago, a small ping-pong ball served as a bridge to open the door of friendship between the Chinese and American people and started the course of “ice-breaking” in China-U.S. relations. The famous story of “the small ball moving the big ball” left warm memories for Watkins, who was then a young man. “For me, my real understanding of China began after I learned about Ping-Pong Diplomacy. That was the first real awakening in my understanding of U.S.-China relations.”
Watkins once served as a teaching assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger and also worked in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Looking back, he said, “Amid the tense international atmosphere at that time, the older generation of leaders of China and the U.S., with their extraordinary strategic vision, seized the opportunity offered by the 31st World Table Tennis Championships and used Ping-Pong Diplomacy as a catalyst to advance the historic course of normalization of relations between the two countries.”
In the hearts of the Chinese and American people, a tiny ping-pong ball weighing less than three grams carries immense power for peace and friendship. Today, that power continues. Table tennis has become an indispensable part of Watkins’ family life. He took part in state-level competitions, and his family boasts many skilled players. He said proudly, “My daughter plays table tennis very well and my 19-year-old grandson is not only good at table tennis, but also excels in a dozen other sports.”
The delegation led by Watkins on this visit includes not only table tennis team members from Columbia University, Duke University and Fordham University, but also trainees from the table tennis club founded by Wang Chen, a former member of China’s national table tennis team. After her retirement, Wang moved to the U.S. and started a table tennis club named after herself in New York, dedicated to promoting and developing the sport across the country. Watkins hopes the participants will broaden their horizons and build friendships through this exchange. “I hope more and more young people from the two countries will become ambassadors for Ping-Pong Diplomacy, carrying forward the spirit.”
Starting from his first encounter with Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Watkins has developed a deep bond with Beijing and China. During preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, working as a staff member in the International Olympic Committee engaging in educational and cultural affairs, he witnessed how the Olympic venues rose from the ground. Later, he partnered with Sister Cities International and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to organize China visits and exchanges for U.S. city officials.
Watkins has witnessed Beijing’s tremendous transformation. He said, “Beijing not only has profound cultural heritage, fine cultural traditions and a rich history, but has also become a place where various resources converge. Technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics are advancing at a rapid pace. Every year I come to Beijing, I see new changes. This time, I will visit Beijing World of Robots and the Xiaomi EV Hyperfactory, which makes me very excited.”
Frequent travel between China and the U.S. for friendly exchanges has become a regular part of Watkins’ work. “I hope I can live as long as Dr. Kissinger and devote more of my life to the cause of people-to-people friendship between our two countries.” At 89, he continues to come up with new ideas to strengthen friendship between the two peoples.
He is considering suggesting to relevant authorities that “commemorative activities for Ping-Pong Diplomacy be established as a regular mechanism for people-to-people friendly exchanges between the two countries. Holding such events in the U.S. every one or two years would help the American people know more about Ping-Pong Diplomacy”. He adds, “I also hope more Chinese people will visit the U.S. to engage in exchanges.”
At the end of the interview, Watkins presented those in attendance with a custom souvenir: an ordinary ping-pong ball printed with two lines: 2026, 55th Anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy. “I hope this legend will live on and continue to thrive in different eras,” he said.
