In the news:
Originally published Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:33 PM
China VP seeks reunion with Iowans he met in 1985
As China's future president makes plans for a trip to the United States next week, he has made sure that there's time between stops in Washington and California to visit Iowa.
The Associated Press
As China's future president makes plans for a trip to the United States next week, he has made sure that there's time between stops in Washington and California to visit Iowa.
Besides Des Moines, Vice President Xi (shee) Jinping (JIHN' Pihng) asked for a Wednesday stop in Muscatine.
Xi, who becomes China's president in October, wants to reconnect with friends he made in Muscatine in 1985 as a young Communist Party leader of Hebei Province.
Sarah Lande, who met Xi in 1985, says his request for Muscatine is to see only those he met previously. She's gathering about 16 people.
Gov. Terry Branstad says Xi's visit is as significant as the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II and the 1959 Iowa farm stop by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
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