XiTellsIowaFriendsPeopleAreKeytoChina-U.S.Ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from friends in the U.S. state of Iowa, saying the foundation of China-U.S. relations rests with their peoples.

In a letter dated Feb. 16, Xi extended Lunar New Year greetings and recalled the warm welcome he received in Iowa 41 years ago, saying the memories remain vivid, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

“No matter how the situation changes, the desire of the Chinese and American peoples for exchange and cooperation will not change,” Xi wrote. “The friendship between the youth of our two countries will not change either.”

The exchange marks the latest in a series of gestures aimed at building goodwill and stabilizing the often-strained bilateral relationship from the grassroots level. By invoking his personal ties to Iowa, Beijing signaled its intention to leverage subnational connections as a buffer against geopolitical tensions at the national level.

“The hope for China-U.S. relations lies in the people, the foundation is in the grassroots, the future is in the youth, and the vitality comes from subnational engagement,” Xi wrote. He expressed hope that his friends would continue promoting people-to-people exchanges and encourage more young Americans to become “inheritors of China-U.S. friendship.”

Xi’s letter responded to a New Year’s greeting from Des Moines businessman Luca Berrone, whom he first met in May 1985 when, as a Hebei provincial official, he led a delegation to Iowa — Hebei’s “sister state” — to study food production during a two-week visit.