Jason Noble

jnoble2@dmreg.com

October 1979: Iowa Gov. Robert Ray is among seven U.S. governors who visit China where Xi Zhongxun (Xi Jinping’s father) is governor of Guandong Province.

October 1980: Xi Zhongxun visits the United States with a delegation that stops in Iowa as well as New York, California and Hawaii.

July 1983: Iowa inks a sister-state relationship with Hebei Province in China.

1984: Branstad leads a 50-person delegation to Hebei province.

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April 1985: Xi Jinping, then a Communist party official and feed cooperative director from Hebei Province, spends several days in Muscatine leading a delegation of government officials. Xi stays with Tom and Eleanor Dvorchak in their split-level ranch house and visits Monsanto and Heinz facilities as well as family farms.

Gov. Branstad, then in his first term as Iowa governor, meets Xi during the visit.

September 2011: Branstad and Xi, now the vice president of China, meet again during a gubernatorial trade mission to China, South Korea and Japan. Branstad invites him to return to Iowa.

Feb. 15-16, 2012: Xi, as vice president, visits Iowa in an official visit that includes a reunion with Muscatine “friends,” a state dinner, a USDA-sponsored forum and an Iowa farm tour.

Ahead of the visit, Branstad calls it the most significant appearance by a foreign dignitary since Pope John Paul II came to Des Moines in 1979. Others compare the visit to a trip to Iowa in 1959 by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

In his toast to Xi during the state dinner, Branstad says: "So many Iowans are pleased that a man we befriended those many years ago has risen to such a position of prominence and respect in the great nation of China."

During Xi’s visit, Pioneer Hi-Bred parent DuPont announces a new seed research facility in Beijing, while China commits to buying $4.3 billion in Iowa soybeans.

During their visit to a farming operation in Maxwell, Branstad frets about the dress code for the rural event. The governor ultimately discards his tie, while Xi keeps his on.

Xi invites Branstad to make a visit in return to China.

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May-June 2012: Following up on Xi’s invitation, Branstad leads a trade mission to China that includes a visit to the Great Wall.

April 2013: Branstad leads a third trade mission to China, visiting Beijing, Tianjin, Baoding City and Shijiazhuang. The trip includes a four-minute face-to-face meeting with Xi.

June 2014: Iowa officials sign an agreement with the Chinese Minister of Commerce and four provinces creating a working group to enhance trade and investment.

September 2015: Branstad meets with Xi during a visit by the president to Seattle.

November 2016: Branstad leads a trade mission to China focused on meat exports that includes visits to Beijing and Hebei province.

December 2016: Branstad is named ambassador to China by President-elect Donald Trump.