'Pingpong Diplomacy' Figure Zhuang Zedong Dies Zhuang Zedong, a key figure in 1971's groundbreaking "pingpong diplomacy" between China and the U.S., died Sunday, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. He was 72 and had struggled with cancer since 2008. A three-time world champion in table tennis, Zhuang won new fame by presenting a gift to American player Glenn Cowan, who had inadvertently boarded a bus carrying the Chinese team at the World Championships in Nagoya, Japan, in 1971. Zhuang and Cowan were photographed together, creating an international sensation at a time when China and the U.S. were bitter Cold War rivals. In this photo taken in April 1972 and released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Zhuang Zedong, right, shakes hands with U.S. table tennis player Glenn Cowan during a visit to the United States. Zhuang a key figure in 1971's groundbreaking "pingpong diplomacy" between China and the U.S., died at the age of 72 in Beijing on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Zhuang won new fame by presenting a gift to Cowan, who had inadvertently boarded a bus carrying the Chinese team at the World Championships in Nagoya, Japan. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Xu Bihua) NO SALES Close Under orders from Chinese leader Mao Zedong, the 15-member American team was then invited to China at the end of the Nagoya championships for an ice-breaking visit. Ten months later, President Richard Nixon made a surprise visit to China, leading to the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979. Zhuang became a favorite of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, a member of the notorious Gang of Four, which held sway over China's cultural scene during the radical 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. Jiang appointed Zhuang to a number of political posts in the sports ministry. Zhuang came under investigation after the Gang was deposed and Jiang imprisoned following Mao's death in 1976, and subsequently spent years coaching the provincial team in the northern province of Shanxi. He returned to Beijing in 1985 and coached young players for several years. Zhuang was married twice and had one daughter.