Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 711 › Conversation 711-012

Nixon & Bull on People's Republic of China and Table tennis diplomacy

Tuesday, April 18, 1972 · 11:58 AM–12:04 PM ET · Oval Office · 36 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation711-012 on Tape 711 (tape position 02:19:18–02:19:53)StartTuesday, April 18, 1972 at 11:58 AMEndTuesday, April 18, 1972 at 12:04 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 711-012 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to coordinate logistical details and preparations for an upcoming White House visit by the People's Republic of China table tennis team. The discussion centered on managing the President's engagement with the visiting athletes as part of the broader diplomatic efforts to improve U.S.-China relations. Following the brief consultation, the participants departed the Oval Office to proceed with the scheduled activities.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On April 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:04 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 711-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 711-12

Date: April 18, 1972
Time: Unknown after 11:58 am unitl 12:04 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     People's Republic of China [PRC] table tennis team
          -Meeting with the President

The President and Bull left at 12:04 pm.

Also recorded on April 18, 1972

  • 023-018 11:52 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:56 am.
  • 711-007 11:52 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:55 am.
  • 711-008 11:52 AM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:55 am.
  • 023-019 11:55 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 11:55 am to 11:58 am.
  • 711-009 11:55 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:55 am to 11:58 am.
  • 711-010 11:58 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:04 pm.
  • 711-011 11:58 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:04 pm.
  • 711-013 12:04 PM · 22 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:04 pm and 12:21 pm.

All 44 conversations from April 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 711-012, April 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/711-012 (accessed October 12, 2026).