"The long-term effect has got to be that there is greater understanding and greater appreciation, no matter what our governments may have to deal with at the moment, whether it is a question about trade, economy. The one constant that can remain is relationships."

On May 17, a team of more than 200 BYU students traveled to China with the tour, Spectacular 2019, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of BYU's first tour of China. The performance was staged in Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai.

"As I look back over the last 40 years of many visits to China-they are the highlights of my professional career. As an educator, I can't imagine any better experience for my students than having had the opportunity to visit China. I became a firm believer that the friendship and trust between the people of the US and China built through exchanges over the past 40 years will last longer than we can imagine," Boothe says.

In 1989, Boothe received the K. Robert Neeley Foundation Award for dedicating himself to "seeking universal understanding and fellowship through the performing arts".

With music, dance and theater as mediums, friendship is his message around the world.

Booth says he and his wife, Susan, now grandparents to nine grandchildren aged between 2 and 11, will bring their grandchildren to China when they are older.

"Because they need to experience China like their grandpa has," Boothe adds.