BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has said on several occasions that the foundation of China-US relations was laid by the people of both sides. Xi has stayed in touch with old friends in Iowa through reunions, letters and shared memories.

In 2012, Xi visited Iowa once again as China's vice-president. He made sure to add Muscatine to his jam-packed itinerary so he could reunite with the old friends. They chatted over tea at Lande's home, gathering around a couch in the living room. Their hour-long meeting was filled with laughter.

Thomas and Eleanor Dvorchak, who had moved to Florida, made a special trip back. Xi recognized the couple the moment he saw them and shared his memories of his stay at the Dvorchaks.

"You were the first group of Americans I came into contact with," Xi told his Iowa friends. "To me, you are America."

Lande compiled their stories into a memoir titled Old Friends: The Xi Jinping-Iowa Story, which was published in 2018. Upon learning about Lande's book project, Xi sent some of his own photos.

Another reunion of these old friends occurred in 2023 when Xi visited San Francisco for the APEC leaders' meeting. When Xi saw Gary, son of the Dvorchaks, he said, "I stayed in your room and remember the sweatshirts and ball gear there."

"There was genuine happiness, so you could see the smile on his face. He was really enjoying it," Gary said of the reunion.

Gary first met Xi in person in 2015 when the Chinese president hosted the Dvorchak family for a private dinner in Beijing. During the gathering, Gary's parents presented Xi with a photo album titled "Commemorating 30 Years of Friendship," featuring photos from 1985 and 2012.

When Gary's father, Thomas Dvorchak, passed away in 2024, Xi conveyed his condolences, expressing that he had always valued the genuine friendship.

The Dvorchaks' Iowa home, where Xi once stayed, has been turned into a museum and renamed the Sino-US Friendship House. Gary noted that visitors can appreciate how much the friendship has grown over the years.

"For America and China to be friends as countries, it is important for people to understand each other," he said.