Robert Tansey, who was born in NewJersey in the 1950s, has lived a life that probably would have beenmuch different if Nixon hadn't made his historic visit to China onFeb. 21, 1972.

As a U.S. diplomat for several years and now as Director ofExternal Affairs for the Nature Conservancy's North Asia Region,Tansey has lived in China for about a decade. He recalled the pathhe and China have taken to arrive at today's close ties.

"As a boy growing up, I loved to look at maps. I knew there wasa place called China," Tansey told Xinhua. "I knew China had a lotof people, a long history and a rich culture. I also knew there wasa conflict between the United States and China."

Back in the 1950s and '60s, China was commonly known as RedChina, or Communist China, among Americans. The breakout of theCultural Revolution in 1966 only solidified that stereotype.

"Then I knew China was having some cultural revolution - peoplehad Chairman Mao's Little Red Book," Tansey said.

In the meantime, the United States was known to Chinese asImperialist America through magazines and revolutionary sloganssuch as "Down with American Imperialism."

However, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, relations betweenChina, the United States and the Soviet Union seesawed.

Ideological divergences between China and the Soviet Union andtensions along the Sino-Russian border, particularly the breakoutof the Zhenbao Island border conflict in 1969, led China and theUnited States to consider the strategic value of resuming tiesbetween their two countries.

Finally, after several rounds of tentative and often indirectcontact, the top leadership of China and the United States agreedto start communication.

By 1971, after more than two decades of isolation and hostilityacross the Pacific Ocean in the wake of the founding of thePeople's Republic in 1949, the U.S. Table Tennis Team became thefirst American sports delegation to set foot on Chinese soil since1949.

Ding Yuanhong, then director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry'sU.S. Affairs Department, recalled that at first they didn't wantthe players to come before Dr. Henry Kissinger's visit. ChairmanMao Zedong agreed.

But according to those close to Chairman Mao, one day, he calledin his secretary in the middle of the night and told him to informthe Foreign Ministry to invite the players. Hence, "Ping-Pongdiplomacy" was born.

The Ping-Pong event marked a thaw in Sino-U.S. relations thatpaved the way for President Nixon's visit the following year.

Accompanied by an entourage of officials and journalists, Nixonshowed his electorate that he was a bold leader by being the firstU.S. president to meet with Chinese top leaders in 22 years.

Indeed, Nixon's China visit, which was shown on TV and featuredon the cover of virtually every newspaper and news magazine in theU.S., created a big wave back home.

"It was like this big news. It was kind of like an explosion -who would have expected that?" said Tansey. "For myself, listeningto other people and observing other people, we realized somethingreally big had happened."

But, to some, the trip was due to happen. Stephanie Tansey, wifeof Robert Tansey and now an educator in dialogue and cross-culturalcommunication in Beijing, believed the visit was a naturalcorrection of hostile relations.

"I thought that was an excitement because I didn't have anyantagonism for Chinese people. And I didn't think about them asenemies," said Stephanie.

During Nixon's visit, the two sides issued the ShanghaiCommunique, which stated it was in the interest of all nations forthe United States and China to work towards the normalization ofbilateral relations.

The U.S. and China also agreed that neither they nor any otherpower should "seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region."

The United States also acknowledged the One-China policy andagreed to cut back military installations on Taiwan.

However, after the Nixon Administration, U.S.-China relationswavered until 1979 when the Joint Communique on the Establishmentof Diplomatic Relations was issued, formally establishingdiplomatic relations between the two countries.

Around that time, the United States also announced its plans towithdraw all its military personnel from Taiwan. However, theTaiwan Relations Act passed shortly thereafter continued to ensureAmerican aid in the defense of Taiwan.

In late 1978, China's new leader Deng Xiaoping decided to openthe country up and advance reforms. The following year, Deng made atrip to the United States, becoming the first Chinese top leader tovisit the U.S. since the founding of the People' s Republic.

"I think it really made an impression when Deng Xiaoping came tothe United States. A picture I remember is Deng Xiaoping with acowboy hat. Maybe because in that sense he was kind of colorful,"Robert Tansey recalled.

The story that followed is the leapfrog growth of China'seconomy for three consecutive decades, in which the United Statesplayed a major role, both as a key trading partner andinvestor.

The last 30 years also saw an explosion of cultural andeducational exchange. Many people from the United States have cometo China to study and work, but even more Chinese have gone to theUnited States for those same reasons.

According to a report published by the Institute ofInternational Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department ofState's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the number ofChinese students studying in U.S. universities was almost 158,000in the previous academic year.

In 1993, the Tanseys were able to satisfy their long-brewinginterest in China when Robert Tansey was posted to the U.S. Embassyin Beijing.

In 1999, Robert Tansey completed his diplomatic service inChina. However, after retiring from the United States ForeignService, he and his wife came back to Beijing in 2010.

"I had kind of a dream, or an idea, that I would come back to dosomething meaningful. So I started looking for that," he said.

Tansey is now working with the Nature Conservancy, an Americanenvironmental body that began operating in China in 1998. His wifeStephanie established a primary and secondary school in Beijing inthe

1990s that emphasized cross-cultural communication andcollaboration and she has been active in the field ever since.

"We had team teachers, one American and one Chinese in eachclassroom. We also did things with other Chinese schools. Thesethings led to my better understanding about how to collaborate andhow to work better together," Stephanie said.

The Tanseys are just two of the millions of Americans andChinese who have helped build a strong, practical link betweenChina and the U.S.

Over the years, they have also noticed how Americans'perceptions of China have changed dramatically as China's economyhas grown and more information about China has becomeavailable.

"People were getting the idea that China was really growing,that China was going to be a major economic power," Robert said."There was a lot of appreciation of China's rising economic roleand the opportunities that presented."

Stephanie believes Americans really respect China more and theChinese people more.

Last week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping paid an officialvisit to the United States. Xi's visit attracted a lot of attentionfrom U.S. media, who portrayed it as setting the tone for bilateralrelations over the next decade.

Mike Chinoy, professor of media at the University of SouthernCalifornia, said the tone of American media on Xi's visit ispositive.

Chinoy believes the media will play a vital role in futurerelations between China and the U.S. and that the changing medialandscape also means there are many more information outlets nowsuch as Internet, blogs and microblogs.

Much as Chinese and Americans learn more about each otherthrough the media, more and more of them are learning about theother country firsthand.

According to the China National Tourism Administration, in 2011,more than two million Americans traveled to China. At the sametime, the U.S. was a major destination for Chinese tourists.

"China has a little over 30 provincial-level jurisdictions. I'vebeen able to visit 26," said Robert Tansey. "When I look at the mapof China now, I think, 'oh, there are still five or six provinces Ihaven't been to. And I want to get there.'" Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Zhou Zhou and Li Na in Beijing contributed tothe story.)