Iowa students get free trip to China on president Xi Jinping's invitation

When your pen pal is the president of China, things can happen very quickly — just ask the 24 Muscatine students and four educators who visited the east Asian country, all financed by the Chinese government as a result of a letter from an “old friend” in Iowa.

It was “old friend” Sarah Lande who wrote a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping that said she hoped his invitation to host 50,000 foreign exchange students in the next five years from the United States would include students from Muscatine.

In his response to Lande, reported in the Chinese press on Jan. 10, Xi said the future of the China-U.S. relationship depends on youth. He expressed hope that “more young Americans will visit China, observe China with their own eyes, listen to China with their own ears and measure China with their own footsteps so as to have a glimpse of a real China,” adding, “I welcome the students of Muscatine to participate in the project.”

The official invitation from Xi for Muscatine students — one eighth grader and the rest from high school — to go to China as part of the first exchange came just three days later, on Jan. 13. The 24 students and four staff members were on a plane by Jan. 22 and were scheduled to return on Jan. 30.

“Isn’t that the darndest thing,” Lande told the Des Moines Register of the speed in which China responded to her request.

“But I guess it shows that if (Xi) decides he wants something to happen, it happens. When China wants something to happen, they put their mind, soul and money behind it,” Lande said.

More: Guest at dinner for Xi Jinping says Chinese leader's affection for time in Iowa apparent

As a member of the Iowa Sister States committee, Lande helped arrange Xi's trip to get a look at American agriculture in 1985, long before he became China’s leader. Then she and her late husband, Roger, hosted him on a second visit to Muscatine in 2012, shortly before he became president.

In his letter, Xi said that since the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties 45 years ago, bilateral relations “have gone through the tests of winds and rains and grown into a towering tree, bearing the fruit of cooperation and delivering benefits to both countries and the rest of the world.”

Back in 1985, Lande said the Muscatine hosts had no idea that one of the Chinese visitors was destined to become the country’s president and that they were imparting an unforgettable experience to the future world leader. To this day, Xi still refers to the people he met back in Muscatine nearly 40 years ago as his “old friends.”

“I guess there is something to ‘Iowa nice’ because he has never forgotten us. It seems to have stuck,” Lande said.

It was only natural that Xi would reach out to these never-forgotten “old friends” from Muscatine when he came to the United States in November, asking them to join him at dinner in San Francisco. It was at that dinner that Xi announced he would like for his country to host 50,000 U.S. exchange students over the next five years. It was that speech that prompted Lande to write a letter to her “old friend” saying that Xi’s address was encouraging and expressing her hope that Muscatine High School students could be included in that offer.

Xi and his country’s affinity for the Iowa city nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River doesn’t stop at bringing Muscatine students to China. A special envoy of Chinese culture will make a U.S. national tour in February to four major American cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and Muscatine.

Make no mistake, in the world of Chinese-U.S. relations, Muscatine is a major American city, maybe the most important in the eyes of its leader. Past Chinese cultural events in Muscatine have included Beijing opera and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

More: From the archives: The rise of the 'Iowa mafia' in China, from a governor to Xi's 'old friends'

The longtime friendship between Muscatine and China’s leader has provided the city with unique opportunities to interact with that country and share cultural experiences, Lande said.

“We are very fortunate that our unique relationship with China does translate into more opportunities for Muscatine youth to build relationships with their Chinese peers,” Krista Regennitter, program officer for global education at the Muscatine-based Stanley Center for Peace and Security, said in an email.

Opportunities for Muscatine students are just getting started. Regennitter said the Chinese Ministry of Education has pledged 200 scholarships for Muscatine youth to visit China over the next four years.

“These opportunities allow Muscatine students to be citizen diplomats – creating relationships with youth from China, learning about their lives and helps breaks down stereotypes that the youth may have about each other.  They are learning important skills through these interactions, such as communicating across different languages and learning about other perspectives. These skills help students be more successful in their future workplaces and broaden their understanding of global challenges,” Regennitter wrote.

Ten Chinese students visited Muscatine in October, and plans are in the works for 10 Muscatine students to visit them in China in April. Another 13 students from Muscatine will join others from around the country this summer for a four-week summer program sponsored by Wanxiang Group Co., a Chinese multinational conglomerate specializing in automotive parts, Regennitter said.

While acknowledging that U.S. and China relations have often been strained, Lande said the “people-to-people” interactions between the two countries become even more valuable.

“China is a country with rich history and culture," Lande said. "Hopefully these opportunities to interact on a person-to-person level will open minds and allow them to become citizen diplomats.”

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Muscatine students get free trip to China from president Xi Jinping