In early 1979, we mailed a Cessna Citation Special Missions brochure to all the foreign embassies in Washington, DC, briefing them on how, in addition to business transportation, the aircraft can be used for missions such as aerial photography, maritime surveillance, medevac, and flight inspection. To our surprise, we were contacted by the Chinese Embassy and invited to travel to China to meet with the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), which was interested in our aircraft. We checked with the State Department, and they encouraged us to go.

We gathered a team of five representatives from Cessna, as well as one from Sierra Research (Flight Inspection), prepared our presentations, studied up on China, and obtained the required visas.

In October, we went to Hong Kong, met with our China Representative and our interpreter, and spent a week reviewing and refining our presentations to use simple English and eliminate all slang and words with dual meanings. We also studied everything we could about China, including practicing using chopsticks. We were advised to bring Travelers’ Checks; this was before the widespread use of credit cards. When used, in exchange, we were given Foreign Exchange Certificates rather than local currency.

Finally, on the morning of Sunday, October 28th, flew from Hong Kong to Canton (now known as Guangzhou). It was a very short flight via CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China), the only Chinese Airline in existence at the time. We cleared Customs in Canton, where we were picked up and transported to the Dong Fang Hotel to await the next CAAC flight to Peking (now Beijing), scheduled for late in the evening. That Afternoon, our hosts took us on a boat ride on the Pearl River, offering us an interesting view of the city, where the captain joined us for Tsingtao Beer. Later that evening we boarded another CAAC flight to Peking. The flight was smooth and comfortable, despite not following any International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules. It was night when we arrived in Peking and were picked up and driven in a Toyota van to the Peking Hotel near Tiananmen Square. The road was two-lane, tree-lined, with almost no traffic, a vast difference from how it’s experienced today.

As we entered the hotel, we were greeted by a large sign in the lobby reading “We welcome our friends from all over the world.” At check-in, we were assigned two guests per room, except for our boss. Instead of being handed keys, when we exited the elevator on our floor, a floor boy met us and guided us to our room.

An interesting observation upon arrival in China was that everyone wore a uniform, men and women alike, either Green, Navy or Black that seemed to represent their rank. The women wore no makeup and did not stylize their hair.

The next morning, we met for breakfast in a large dining hall on the first floor. The waitresses wore numbers, and we were assigned 747. Not understanding the language, we ordered our meals by picture on the menu. At around 9:00am, we were picked up in the Toyota minivan and driven to an office building for our meeting. There was almost no automobile traffic, rather, the people were riding bicycles, 10 to 15 deep.

Upon arrival, we met our Customer, CATIC, for the first time.  Along with the senior officials, there were about a dozen other team members representing different technical areas. A Chinese interpreter, assigned to us by CATIC, was Madame He Wen-Rong. She was outstanding and had served as the interpreter during President Nixon and Henry Kissinger’s visit to China. The room we met in had a long conference table, and following introductions and greetings, we set up our carousel projector to display on one of the walls.

At the start of our discussions, we were unsure of the eventual interest, so we began by briefing them on the standard Cessna Citation II, including its size, performance, installed avionics, and other systems and equipment. Following that, our presentation focused on the Special missions the aircraft can perform. We briefed them on the modifications required and the special mission equipment needed. As discussed in Hong Kong, we made sure to speak briefly and wait for our comments to be translated before moving on. All the technical members were taking notes during our presentations. What surprised me was that if we said anything funny, several of our customers grinned or smiled before our comments were even translated, becoming increasingly apparent that several of them understood English better than we understood Chinese.

Over the next few days, we got to know our customers much better and established a strong rapport. Eventually, we learned of their interest in acquiring the three aircraft and their intention to modify them to fulfill different missions. Discussions on business, pricing, training, acceptance, and delivery followed that.

Knowing our hotel rooms were not locked and perhaps not private, we did our best to secure all sensitive information and chose to discuss pricing and strategy only during walks around Tiananmen Square near the hotel.

Our hosts had prepared an agenda that allowed time for sightseeing and other activities. As a start, they took us to the Great Wall. It was very impressive; however, you could see it reflected its age and needed repair. It was not the attraction it is today. During our visit, we were the only people on the Great Wall, no vendors or souvenir shops. Other sites we visited included the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs, and the Spring Palace. We were also taken to the Friendship Store, established only for foreigners, where we could shop for Chinese artifacts, tapestries, Cloisonné, Ivory carvings, etc. One evening, we were also taken to a Cinema.

On three different evenings, we were invited to a banquet attended by CATIC and other senior Government Officials. At these banquets, every so often, our hosts would have a toast where we were to drink a shot of Moutai, a traditional Chinese liquor. There were too many “Gan Bais” (Bottoms Up) throughout the banquet, and it wasn’t easy to adapt to the taste of Moutai.

Once we understood the Customer’s requirements, we returned to Wichita, KS, to put together our proposal. A week following our return, we were visited by the CIA, which inquired about what was discussed during the banquets. Very interesting, as they knew exactly what we were doing and who we were meeting… a little scary to realize that both sides were spying on us.

Over the next several weeks, we prepared our proposal for the three aircraft and transmitted it to CATIC. That was followed by questions and a request for additional information that we supplied. Eventually, once CATIC was satisfied with the proposal, we were invited to return to Peking for the final negotiations and contract signing. Upon our arrival in China, significant changes were already taking place. While everyone in Peking was still dressed in uniforms, we saw some people dressed in regular clothes and different colors in Southern China.

Upon completion of the final negotiations and as we were ready to sign the Contract, the ceremony was delayed because one of CATIC’s technical personnel had an additional inquiry about the standard aircraft radar: range, tilt, and scan. Something fundamental and mediocre, it was of significance and he needed to know. Once satisfied with our answers, we proceed with Contract signing.

As the aircraft neared completion, a delegation from CATIC arrived in Wichita, for training and acceptance. The pilots and technicians spent over a month undergoing FlightSafety flight and maintenance training as well as P&WC engine and Collins Avionics training. Eventually, following technical acceptance of the aircraft in Wichita, they were ferried by Citation Demo Pilots to XIAN, China, for final acceptance.

It was a great experience, as we got to see China in its early days and establish rapport and lasting relationships with our customers. Shortly thereafter, we sold and delivered two additional Cessna Citations to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and witnessed firsthand all the growth and changes that were taking place in China.