In February 1972, then US president Richard Nixon made cold war history by visiting China. Tomorrow, the goalkeeper of Japan's soccer team, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, has a chance to go one better.
Sport has long played a role in settling diplomatic disputes. For decades, the Olympic Games have brought together foes on the sporting field as a precursor to having them meet around a negotiating table.
When it came to relations with the US, China in 1971 turned the equation around and began with a table tennis table. At the World Table Tennis Championships in the Japanese city of Nagoya, its players invited the Americans to visit.
So began what became known as 'ping-pong diplomacy'. The US team accepted the invitation and shortly after their return home, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger secretly visited Beijing.
Seven months later, Nixon made his groundbreaking trip, during which mainland relations were resumed for the first time since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. On April 12, a plane carrying the national table tennis team landed in Detroit for a 10-city tour, cementing the new-found ties.
The formula became a staple of diplomats trying to forge or repair relations. Whatever the discipline - athletics, gymnastics, cricket, golf, and scores of others - sport was seen as being above politics and therefore a perfect starting point to engendering diplomacy.
Which brings us to the Asian Cup soccer tournament. The event reaches its climax at the Worker's Stadium in Beijing tomorrow night, when China and Japan meet in the final. The national team, undefeated in 19 games, has reached the final for the first time in 20 years. It will be Japan's third appearance in 12 years.