Dinner for VP in Iowa draws top US officials to bolster trade

DES MOINES, Iowa - Vice-President Xi Jinping encouraged more Chinese companies to invest in Iowa and the Midwest to help create local jobs, he said during the welcome dinner in the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday.

He also promoted exchanges between the local governments between China and the US, saying it is the foundation of the bilateral relations.

It is the second time the Chinese leader visited America's Heartland. In 1985, Xi led a delegation to Iowa when he was an official in China's Hebei province to learn more about advanced agricultural technology.

Among the 650 dinner guests in attendance on Wednesday were US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, US Ambassador to China Gary Lock, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

Impressed with the advanced local industries as well as the hospitable people, Xi said he hoped that Iowa can continue to engage in trade and economic relations with China.

"China will actively encourage our enterprises to make investment in Iowa and contribute to the local jobs," he said.

He also said that China would like to work with other states in the Midwest to increase sub-national exchanges in many areas, such as industry, services and emerging sectors.

Xi spoke fondly of his trip 27 years ago during his speech.

"It was my first visit to the United States and also the first direct contact with American people," he said.

He said from that encounter, he found that Americans, just like the people of China, are "honest, warm-hearted, hardworking and friendly."

"There is a tremendous reservoir of good will between two peoples and we each take great interest in the other," he said.

During Xi's five-day trip to the US, which ends Friday, he said he wanted to engage with a broad cross-section of the American society to help deepen the friendship between Chinese and American people.

In 1985, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad met with Xi in his office at the state Capitol. The 65-year-old governor, who is still in charge of the state after he returned to top position in 2001, hosted the Chinese leader again.

"We are proud of our mutually beneficial trading partnerships with China, and Iowa farmers are proud to harvest safe and reliable agricultural products for use by the people of China," the governor said during the welcome speech.

"We hope to build upon these partnerships in related areas where Iowa leads the world, such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, food processing and financial services."

The Midwestern state, which calls itself the "food capital of the world," is located in the center of the Corn Belt. It ranks first nationally in production of corn, soybeans, hogs, eggs and ethanol, according to the Iowa Farm Bureau.

It also has a strong financial and insurance base with more 6,000 firms, including Nationwide Group, ING, MetLife, Principal Financial Group and Wells Fargo.

The close tie with China has brought the state many benefits in the past three decades.

China was the state's fourth-largest market in 2010, after Canada, Mexico and Japan, with $627 million trade volume, according to the US Global Leadership Coalition.

Iowa's exports to China has increased by about 1,300 percent from 2000-10, according to US-China Business Council. The main exports are crops, machinery and processed foods.

Several local agriculture technology companies and manufacturers have already invested in China, including the seeding company Pioneer, agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto and machinery maker John Deere.

Other guests at Wednesday's dinner were Iowa state officials, representatives from local businesses and the local Chinese community as well as 160 members from the Chinese delegation.

The carefully designed menu highlighted Iowa's best produce, such as pork, beef, corn, potato and squash. Chinese green tea was offered instead of coffee after the meal.

Earlier Wednesday, China and the US signed 15 soybean purchase contracts worth $4.3 billion at the China-US Agricultural Products Trade and Cooperation Symposium in Des Moines.

Xi will attend the first China-US Agriculture Symposium on Thursday and visit a farm before he leaves for Los Angeles, the last leg of his trip to the US.

China Daily