THE STUDY TOUR THAT HELPED CHANGE A NATION

An unlikely friendship between two men whose countries had once been implacable enemies helped put China on the road to modernity

Editor's note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of China's reform and opening-up policy. China Daily profiles people who experienced or witnessed the important drive.

The night before Deng Xiaoping embarked on the educational journey of a lifetime in 1920, he is said to have told his father that in going to France to study, his mission was "to learn knowledge and truth from the West to save China".