The relevance of the study is determined by the role and place of sports diplomacy in international relations and foreign policy today. Sport is truly a global phenomenon. In the modern world, it is a tool of political influence with the greatest potential and opportunities. History abounds in examples of how different countries used this tool to realize their goals. The “pingpong diplomacy” confirms this fact, since it was a breakthrough in US-China relations. Thanks to the efforts of the PRC State Council Chairman Zhou Enlai and US State Secretary Henry Kissinger, Beijing and Washington were able to build trust in 1971 and to establish diplomatic relations in 1979. This in turn contributed to changes in the geopolitical situation in relations between the United States, China and the USSR by strengthening the position of the United States and China and weakening the Soviet position. The subject of the study is sports diplomacy, its special case — “ping-pong diplomacy” which played a decisive role in the normalization of relations between the PRC and the United States and their subsequent development. Authors of the study applied the principles of historicism and objectivity, which imply consideration of phenomena in the dynamics of change. The historical-genetic method of research was used to identify the properties, functions and changesof the studied reality in the process of its historical movement. Based on the results of study, the authors conclude that ping-pong diplomacy had a significant impact on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the USA. It is also capable of having a positive impact on the development of bilateral relations and overcoming challenges and conflicts between the states.