Feature: Documentary on Deng's 1979 U.S. trip sheds light on bilateral ties

A documentary about late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's famous trip to the United States in 1979 offers a glimpse of not only the past, but also the present and the future vitality of China-U.S. relations.

"Mr. Deng Goes to Washington," screened at the United Nations (UN)headquarters Tuesday evening local time, retraces Deng's nine-day trip between Jan. 28 and Feb. 5, 1979, which demonstrated China's resolve to open to the world and learn from developed countries in science and technology, education and culture.

"I do not have a crystal ball to foresee what will happen to the relations between China and the United States," said director Fu Hongxing when asked why he chose to make the film. "History often gives us a pair of witty eyes."

"China and the United States were like newlyweds at that time," Fu said. "If the two do not want to get a divorce, and they still want to live happily, they have to ponder over why they got married and recall their honeymoon."

Deng was the first Chinese leader to visit the United States shortly after the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1979.

The then vice Chinese premier met then U.S. President Jimmy Carter and other American politicians, accepted interviews, visited Ford's assembly plant and NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Fu's thoughts were echoed by many of the celebrities who showed up Tuesday to watch the historical thriller, which premiered in China in May 2015.

"What is the most notable about Deng's visit was the extraordinary level of friendliness that was demonstrated on both sides," said Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, who took on the 1979 trip as a local reporter. "It was hard to imagine that we just spent several decades in a rather hostile relationship."

"Looking back at 1979, we could have done much worse if Vice Premier Deng and President Carter had not found ways to begin the process of bringing the U.S. and China closer together," Schell said.

Hanson Chan, a Chinese American writer, was also covering Deng's visit 37 years back, and is one of the interviewees in the documentary.

"Though so many years have passed, it is still an encouraging, enlightening event," he said. "All of us should continue our efforts to enhance the friendship and understanding between the two countries and the two peoples."

The smooth development of ties between China and the United States -- the biggest developing country and the biggest developed country respectively and the top two economies of the world -- greatly benefits the two peoples and the world as a whole, said Zhang Meifang, deputy consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

In 2015, bilateral trade amounted to nearly 560 billion U.S. dollars and China became the largest trading partner of the United States. Two-way investment has grown to more than 150 billion dollars from the negligible amount at the beginning of bilateral relations.

Fu said more than 1 million Chinese people went to the cinema to watch the film and more than 6 million watched it on TV.

"The film has been so well-received because people are keen to learn about the history of China-U.S. relations, and all of them want to see bilateral relations growing healthily, and proceed in a proper manner," Fu said.

To make the movie, Fu trawled through archives, purchased video footage from U.S. TV networks such as ABC, NBC and CBS, and acquired the support of Deng's family.

Key figures interviewed in the film include former U.S. President Carter, former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Deng's bodyguards and secret service agents from the White House.

New York is the third leg of the documentary's screening tour that began on Nov. 11, and the documentary will be shown in the U.S. cities of Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Endi