Iowa honors four decades of friendship

President's 1985 visit sows seed of deep ties that strengthen through generations

Iowa Sister States celebrated the 40th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic 1985 visit to Iowa, at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates on Thursday, honoring four decades of deep friendship between Xi and Iowan old friends, the close tie and sister bond between Iowa and Hebei — a relationship that has strengthened through generations.

President Xi has stayed in touch with these "old friends" since his first visit to Iowa in 1985, when, as secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhengding county committee in Hebei, he led a five-member delegation to learn about crop production and livestock farming.

Luca Berrone, a member of the board of directors of Iowa Sister States and the trip organizer of the 1985 delegation, recalled how he was driving around with the delegation and had a fantastic afternoon on the Mississippi River. Berrone said that was how the friendship began. The friendship has endured over time.