In 1985, a Communist Party functionary from Hebei province led an official delegation to his “sister state” of Iowa and met with Iowa’s young governor. That party official was Xi Jinping, now China’s president, and the governor was Terry Branstad, now the U.S. Ambassador to China. According to Ambassador Branstad, “Who would imagine that a young man who came leading an agriculture delegation to Iowa in ’85 would someday be the leader of China?” The two men still share a warm personal relationship to this day.

1985年，河北省的一位党委干部率团访问“友好省州”艾欧瓦并拜会了该州年轻的州长。这位党委干部正是现任中国国家主席习近平，而当时的州长则是现任美国驻中国大使泰里·布兰斯塔德。布兰斯塔德大使表示：“谁能想到85年率领农业代表团来艾欧瓦考察的年轻人有朝一日会成为中国的领导人呢？”两人至今仍保持着友好的私人关系。