Dr. Harlan Smith was a man who believed that astronomical research could be, and should be, conducted in every part of the globe. He traveled widely and used his connections with McDonald Observatory and NASA to facilitate this goal. He was constantly inviting scientists from everywhere to come visit Austin and McDonald Observatory and he traveled to observatories elsewhere. A particular interest of his was Chinese astronomy. This arose from the fact that his wife was born in China as part of a missionary family. When relations between the US and China reopened, Harlan Smith was part of the first scientific delegation to visit China. He also sought to improve and encourage Chinese astronomy by fostering communications through meetings. Thus, it came to be that he organized an IAU colloquium in 1989 in Nanjing on the subject of comparative planetology. Unfortunately, the meeting needed to be cancelled. This IAU Colloquium 168 on Comet Nuclei is a direct result of that abortive effort. In the talk I will discuss Harlan Smith's influence globally.