Luck and prosperity often go hand in hand, When China decided to open up to the world 40 years ago, it began a major shift in society. And alongside that opening up came tighter RELATIONS with the United States, from business to culture. CGTN's Karina Huber takes a look at some of the cultural changes that have taken shape between China and its biggest trading partner.

It was a ping pong match in 1972 that marked the first cultural exchange between China and the U.S. since the Cold War. That same year China sent two pandas to the U.S. - Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing - in what has become known as "panda diplomacy".

In 1979, the U.S. established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. In the 40 years since then, cultural exchanges between the two nations have flourished.

MARGOT LANDMAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON US-CHINA RELATIONS "The National Committee on U.S.-China relations was at the forefront of that sending the first of everything you can think of to China and bringing delegations from China."

Today, three of the top ten grossing films in China are American. American television shows like House of Cards, Sex and the City and Friends are also big hits there.

One of China's biggest exports to the U.S. is students. More than 350,000 Chinese students are enrolled in U.S. colleges.

Peggy Blumenthal says those students contribute over 13 billion dollars annually to the U.S. economy. She says they also bring other benefits.

PEGGY BLUMENTHAL, SENIOR COUNSELOR INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION "For Chinese and Americans to study together, to be in dormitories together, to be in labs, and library teams and athletic teams together really creates the possibility of deep understanding on both sides and deep comfort in dealing with each other on both sides."

But in recent years Chinese students have been made to feel less welcome in the U.S.

KARINA HUBER NEW YORK "The Trump administration reportedly considered banning student visas to Chinese citizens over concerns they are working as spies. But Blumenthal says Chinese students, like all international students, are heavily vetted before arriving on U.S. soil."

PEGGY BLUMENTHAL, SENIOR COUNSELOR INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION "International students are no more a threat to us than any kind of international visitors, and we have to be very careful not to demonize the large numbers of students from China who are coming here for a legitimate desire to get a U.S. education."

Dinda Elliott of China Institute says political tensions between the U.S. and China have altered American perceptions of China and that could have a negative impact on cultural exchanges.

DORINDA ELLIOTT DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, CHINA INSTITUTE "There is an increasing feeling that China is not moving forward with market-driven reforms, and so there's a sense that it's becoming more closed, the control over the internet is stronger and I think that that has some influence on the way Americans see the level of their interest in Chinese culture."

Landman agrees, but says in times when governments disagree cultural diplomacy is needed more than ever.

MARGOT LANDMAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON US-CHINA RELATIONS "We're not going to agree on everything. Nobody agrees on everything. You have the best marriage in the world and you don't agree on everything. And these are countries with very different historical, cultural, political economic traditions. I don't think agreement should be a goal. I think genuine understanding and communication should be a goal."

Karina Huber, CGTN, New York.