WASHINGTON - When John Holden's father favored his son's decision to learn Chinese in 1971 as "a great idea," the 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis wasn't so convinced himself.

Though his father said Chinese was going to be very useful someday, there was no business between the United States and China, despite some signs of a thaw in their relations at that time.

"Of course, fathers are always right. And he proved to be right about that," said Holden, now a leading US expert on China with over four decades experience in business, diplomacy and education, in a recent interview with Xinhua.