Reimagining and Repositioning China in International Politics: The Role of Sports in China’s Long 1970s

Abstract

This chapter examines how the People’s Republic of China reimagined and repositioned itself in international politics from 1969 to 1980. Drawing on recently declassified documents, it argues that Beijing creatively and successfully used sports initiatives to insert itself into international politics as an important member of the global political community. As the decade began, Beijing used ping-pong diplomacy to initiate a breakthrough with the United States and other western countries. Both China’s active role in boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and its prominent participation in the 1984 Los Angeles Games helped to win Beijing friends and influence in Washington and on the international stage. This chapter seeks to use sports as a lens through which to reevaluate the international history of China with the rest of the world.