Xi Jinping and his four-decade bond with Iowan friends

Xi and his delegation were warmly received in Muscatine. "On our first night, our hostess asked what time we would wake up the next morning and what we would like to eat," recalled Xia Wenyi, the delegation's translator.

Xi responded that he was happy to eat whatever the family typically had. According to Xia's recollection, Xi said, "We want to experience and understand the daily life of an everyday American family."

Hostess Eleanor prepared a big breakfast with coffee and tea every day during Xi's stay. Xi slept in the Star Trek-themed bedroom belonging to the Dvorchaks' son, Gary, who was then away at university.

"Everything, no matter what, was very acceptable to him — he was humble," Eleanor recounted.

Xi's visit came after China and the United States had spent years working to restore relations in the late 1970s. In 1983, then Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a sister-state agreement with Hebei and led a 50-member delegation to the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang in 1984, which, as he recalled, led to Xi's trip in 1985.

"We wanted to treat them as we were treated in Hebei. So we went all out," recalled Branstad, who served as US ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020.

Xi's itinerary in Muscatine included tours to farms and food processing plants, interviews with local media, a "Welcome to Muscatine" luncheon and a boat excursion on the Mississippi River.

It was Xi's first sighting of the Mississippi River. "When I was young, I had read the novels of Mark Twain, and I had long wanted to see for myself the picturesque scenery of the Mississippi," Xi said when he revisited Iowa back in 2012.

"He was curious about everything and asked questions about everything," recalled Sarah Lande, one of the Muscatine tour coordinators. Local newspaper Muscatine Journal also reported on how Xi engaged with residents, answering "a variety of questions about China and its people." Xi was also given a key to the city.

In 2023, reminiscing about this experience, Xi said, "I have found that although our two countries are different in history, culture and social system and have embarked on different development paths, our two peoples are both kind, friendly, hardworking and down-to-earth."

LASTING CONNECTIONS

Xi has said on several occasions that the foundation of China-US relations was laid by the people of both sides. Xi has stayed in touch with old friends in Iowa through reunions, letters and shared memories.

In 2012, Xi visited Iowa once again as China's vice-president. He made sure to add Muscatine to his jam-packed itinerary so he could reunite with the old friends. They chatted over tea at Lande's home, gathering around a couch in the living room. Their hour-long meeting was filled with laughter.