Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping made an official visit to the United States in 1979 and met with President Jimmy Carter, former president Richard Nixon, and members of the U.S. Congress. Deng traveled throughout the United States and toured the headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and The Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington – demonstrating the Chinese government’s new priorities in technology and the economy. While in Houston, Deng visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center and also attended a rodeo.