On an official trip in August 1985, then-Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole and her husband, then-Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (R-Kan.), visited the Great Wall of China.

Elizabeth Dole, elected as a North Carolina Senator last fall, was leading a delegation of Senators on a tour of China, where they met with Chinese officials regarding U.S. commitment to Taiwan.

During the trip, Elizabeth Dole announced that the two nations had signed agreements to renew negotiations on a maritime agreement and to develop air cargo operations between the governments. She also said the Army Corps of Engineers would now be allowed to undertake projects that would help expand China’s heavily congested ports.