Nancy Reagan, the former US first lady who died at the age of 94 in Los Angeles on Sunday, was her husband's greatest supporter and confidante and accompanied him on a trip to China in April 1984, known as the "Panda diplomacy" visit.

Before the trip by the first lady and Ronald Reagan, who was US president from 1981 to 1989, China's bamboo crop had started to blossom - a rare occurrence that signals the death of the plant. This led to a severe shortage of bamboo, the staple of the panda's diet.

As first lady, Nancy Reagan launched the "Pennies for Pandas" drive in the United States in March 1984. In the drive, she asked US schoolchildren to donate money in an emergency effort to save China's wild giant pandas.

"I hope all children in our country will help in this cause and give their pennies to help the pandas," she said at a news conference at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Accompanying her husband on the six-day trip to China, she won the hearts of the Chinese people with her relaxed elegance. During a visit to the Beijing Zoo, she donated a check for $13,000 and two jeeps to the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

During a media briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei offered condolences on the death of Reagan, saying she had contributed to the exchanges between Beijing and Washington.

Teng Jianqun, a researcher of US studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said the Reagans' visit in 1984 helped broaden the Chinese people's understanding of the United States.

It was the first time that people in China, after the reform and opening-up, were introduced to the charm of "first lady diplomacy", he said. Nancy Reagan's hairstyle, makeup and fashion sense made a deep impression during a time when sartorial elegance was just beginning to be appreciated among Chinese people, Teng added.

Just as Deng Xiaoping's visit to the US in 1979 "changed their impression of China", the visit by the Reagans left a favorable impression at a time when the Cold War had shaped opinions, he said.

Zhou Wenzhong, former Chinese ambassador to the US, recalled Nancy Reagan as "a witness to and a symbol of" the improvement in the China-US relationship. Her visit to China helped "boost two-way public diplomacy", Zhou said.

Contact the writers at wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn