Though it has been two decades since his visit to China, Chinese people expressed their regret over Ronald Reagan's demise Saturday and their appreciation for the former US president's efforts to promote the friendship between China and the United States.  

In April 1984, Ronald Reagan, who had just started his second term as president, paid a six-day official visit to China and became the first in-office US president to visit China after the two nations established diplomatic relations.

He received a warm welcome in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an cities.

Reagan said he came to China for friendship and peace, as the American people have always revered the achievements of the Chinese civilization and cherished the warmest friendly feelings towards the Chinese people.

Reagan said he came to China to directly express respect for the Chinese people and listen to what the Chinese people longed for and cared about. He pledged to facilitate an all-round cooperation between China and the United States in the process of China's economic modernization drive.

Some Chinese eyewitnesses of Reagan's historic visit still remembered the event.

When he addressed a gathering of 100-plus students at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, Reagan, wearing a badge of the college, encouraged the young Chinese never to abandon their dreams, recalled Ni Shixiong, head of the Research Institute of the United States under the university.

After he concluded his China visit, he said, through a letter from the US embassy to China to the university, that he considered the Chinese youth as having broad development prospects, Prof. Ni added.

During the six-day visit, the former US president also made a tour to Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province, western China, to see the world famous terra cotta warriors.

According to Meng Jianming from the terra cotta museum, Reagan's visit turned out to be a grand occasion for the museum, as he was accompanied by a flock of 180 journalists from both home and abroad.

The former US president was allowed to go down to the pits where the terra cotta warriors were arrayed, which was a special treatment seldom enjoyed by viewers, Meng said.

Viewing the clay warriors, Reagan showed great interest and a sense of humor, speaking highly of the magnificent wonders of ancient China, Meng added.

A skilled horse-rider, President Reagan asked Meng, who acted as tour guide for him, whether he was allowed to touch a terra cotta horse. He even compared his height with the terra cotta warriors and shrugged humorously after discovering one of them was taller than him, recalled Meng.

At the end of the visit, President Reagan turned back to the splendid terra cotta troop, and joked "You're dismissed", Meng added.

Ronald Wilson Reagan served as the US president from January 1981 to January 1989. He paid an official visit to China from April 26 to May 1, 1984, and met China's then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2004)