an episode that occurred in 1971, as the United States was just beginning to restore normal relations with the People's Republic of China after more than 20 years. As a thaw in relations between the two countries was becoming evident, the Chinese government invited the United States table tennis team—then playing in the world championship meet in Nagoya, Japan—to visit Beijing and play in exhibition matches. The invitation was issued on April 6, 1971, just as President Richard M. Nixon was preparing to lift a 20-year trade embargo. The American team arrived in China on April 10 and traveled around the country, before being received by Premier Chou En-lai on the 14th in Beijing. The American team lost its exhibition matches, which were played on the 13th, but the Chinese team was invited to visit the United States. China's government also allowed American and Canadian newspaper and television reporters into the country to cover the event. Within a year, Nixon himself visited China, and normal diplomatic relations were restored within the decade.