In 2012, Xi Jinping, then Vice President of China, returned to Iowa to reconnect with his, “Old Friends”. One thing that came out of this visit is the China-US Demonstration Farm that is modeled off the Kimberly Farm in Maxwell, IA. President Xi visited the Kimberly Farm and encouraged a model farm be built in Hebei Province. Information Compiled by Iowa Sister States Executive Director, Heather Jones This month we are learning about one of our most unique partners; a partnership that truly exemplifies the power of a people to people exchange. Our third sister state was initiated by Governor Robert D. Ray during a visit to China in 1982. A Sister State relationship was formally established during a return visit by a Hebei delegation in July 1983. Iowa Governor, Terry Branstad, and Hebei Governor, Zhang Shuguang, formalized the partnership during that visit on July 22, 1983. In 1985, there was a Chinese delegation that came There are multiple examples of other strong ties that have emerged from this relationship. The house that President Xi stayed at in 1985 has now been turned into the Sino-US Friendship House in Muscatine. The World Food Prize Global Youth Institute brings students from Hebei Province every October to participate in its institute. In June of 2018, the Drake University football team traveled to Hebei to play the first ever international Division 1 football game in China against Hebei University. Another well-known outcome of the 1985 and subsequent 2012 visit is the placement of Iowa’s former Governor, Terry Brandstad, to the post of US Ambassador to China. As we are seeing with each featured partnership, one connection can literally change the world. Our relationship with Hebei is a great example of this. to Iowa that has now become famous over time. The leader of this delegation was none other than Xi Jinping, who is now the President of China. This was the beginning of a lifelong relationship that has been dubbed, “Old Friends”. This delegation catapulted exchanges and programs between the partners that continue to this day.
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