The Xinhua file photo shows then Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and then U.S. President Jimmy Carter shake hands at the White House on Jan 31, 1979. (Photo/Xinhua)
-- Jan. 28 - Feb. 5, 1979: Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping paid an official visit to the U.S. at the invitation of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The visit, the first by a Chinese leader to the United States, opened a new chapter in the history of China-U.S. relations. On Jan. 31, the two sides signed a bilateral technological cooperation agreement and a cultural agreement.
