On Jan. 28, 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then vice premier of the People's Republic of China, flew across the Pacific Ocean to kick off his 9-day historic visit to the United States.

A tall, middle-aged Chinese interpreter accompanied Deng all the way through the journey, as recorded in historical photos and videos. He was Ji Chaozhu, who earned fame for interpreting for many Chinese leaders and later became under secretary-general of the United Nations.

"It was a historic decision for Deng to visit the United States," recalled Ji in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in New York, as both countries are marking the 30th anniversary of the visit.

"Deng's visit helped the world to have a better and clear understanding of the upbeat, vigorous and peace-loving new China," he said, calling it "one of the greatest achievements" of the visit.

Many people have witnessed the development of China-U.S. relations, but those who have the chance to witness the process at "zero distance" are one in a million -- and Ji is one of them.

Born in north China's Shanxi Province in 1929, Ji came with his family to the United States and spent his teenage years here. He also attended Harvard, before making the decision, as did many others of his generation, to return to his motherland and serve New China after its founding in 1949.

Since then, he had served in the Chinese Foreign Ministry for many years, interpreting for China's top leaders and bearing witness to many significant events in Chinese diplomacy.


"Deng's visit was extraordinary from the very beginning," a smiling Ji told Xinhua. "Disregarding all conventional protocol practices, U.S. Vice President Mondale and Secretary of State Vance met Deng at the airport."

U.S. presidents, vice presidents and secretaries of state rarely meet or see guests off at the airport, but for Deng, it was an exception, Ji explained.

"(I felt) The Chinese people have stood up," Ji said of what came up to his mind at that time.

In his long career, Ji's intimate knowledge of American culture made him a valuable member of the Chinese diplomatic corps, especially when Henry Kissinger made his now-famous secret visit to Beijing in 1971 to pave the way for the Nixon visit.

In 1973, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai chose Ji to lead the first diplomatic mission to the United States, to establish the country's first liaison office in Washington. He was assigned to the Chinese embassy in Washington after full diplomatic relations was established between the two countries.

The New York Times noted that at the time from the Nixon visit to China through Deng's visit to the U.S., Ji was the only person on either side capable of interpreting from English to Chinese. The newspaper dubbed him "The Indispensable Mr. Chi (a different pronunciation for Ji)."

Ji was held in such high regard by U.S. diplomats that Alexander Haig, as Secretary of State under newly-elected President Ronald Reagan, in 1981 requested that China send Ji to meet with Reagan to try to defuse tensions over Reagan's plan to sell sophisticated weapons to Taiwan. Ji has had the privilege to meet with every U.S. president from Nixon to Clinton.


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