China-US relations: against backdrop of tension, Beijing’s envoy talks of ‘old friends’ in Iowa

Qin Gang, China’s new ambassador to the US, continues seemingly friendly gestures, including a nod to Xi Jinping’s visits to Iowa

Iowan farmers and agricultural associations have a firm commercial relationship with China and most are relatively friendly towards China, says academic

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China's ambassador to the United States Qin Gang “stressed that people-to-people relations underpin state-to-state relations”, according to China’s foreign ministry. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:12pm, 19 Aug 2021Updated: 9:44pm, 19 Aug 2021

China’s ambassador to the United States has highlighted the American state of Iowa’s close ties to the Chinese leadership, the latest in a string of conciliatory actions since he took up the post.

Ever since replacing Cui Tiankai as Beijing’s top diplomat in Washington last month, Qin Gang has adopted a friendly posture in his public statements and events.

On Wednesday, he held a video call with Sarah Lande and Kenneth Quinn, who received Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visited Iowa in 1985 on his first US trip while still a low-ranking government official.

Lande, 83, is the executive director of Iowa Sister States, an organisation aimed at increasing Iowa’s international profile. Quinn, 79, is a former US ambassador to Cambodia and president emeritus of the Iowa-based non-profit organisation World Food Prize Foundation.

“Delighted to meet with Mrs Sarah Lande and ambassador Kenneth Quinn, to recall the fond memories of President Xi Jinping and Chinese people‘s friendship with #Iowa,” Qin tweeted on Wednesday.

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