Milestones

Milestones: 1971

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 05:12

Vice-foreign minister Qiao Guanhua (left) bursts into laughter at a United Nations General Assembly session in October 1971. The People's Republic of China was restored all its lawful rights in the UN that month. Xinhua

-- At the Chinese government's invitation, a US table tennis team travels to China in April, kicking off what is known as "ping-pong diplomacy". In July, Henry Kissinger, then US national security advisor to President Richard Nixon, makes a secret trip to Beijing and meets with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. The historic trip fosters dramatic changes in relations between the two countries.

-- In October, the UN General Assembly passes Resolution 2758, which restores to the People's Republic of China its lawful rights in the United Nations. In November, New China's delegation attends the UN General Assembly for the first time since 1949. This spurs the second wave of China's expansion in its relations with foreign countries.

-- On Sept 13, the plane carrying Lin Biao, his wife and son crashes in Mongolia after a failed coup d'etat.