Iowans ranging from a former governor and ambassadors to local farmers fondly recall Chinese President Xi Jinping's two visits to the Midwestern state. The connection forged over the years made quite a few Iowans "old friends" of Xi, as he calls them.

多年來厚植的情誼讓艾奧瓦州人民成為中國國家主席習近平口中的“老朋友"。從前州長、大使到當地農場主，艾奧瓦州人民深情回憶起習近平的兩次到訪。

Terry Branstad, former United States ambassador to China, was governor of Iowa when Xi first visited in 1985 and again in 2012.

美國前駐華大使特里·布蘭斯塔德在1985年和2012年習近平兩度訪問艾奧瓦州時恰好都在任州長。

At a high-level US-China agricultural dialogue held online recently, Branstad recounted his interactions with Xi over the years.

在最近舉行的中美農業(yè)高層研討會中，布蘭斯塔德講述了他多年來與習近平的互動。

When he first became governor, Branstad signed a sister state-province agreement with Hebei province in 1983 and brought a 50-person delegation to Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, the next year.

布蘭斯塔德1983年首次出任艾奧瓦州州長，該州當年即與中國河北省結成友好州省關系。1984年，作為州長的布蘭斯塔德帶領一個50人的訪問團訪問河北省。

"So then in the spring, 1985, a delegation of five young men, led by a county-level Party secretary named Xi Jinping, came to Iowa. We wanted to treat them as we were treated in Hebei. So we went all out," Branstad recalled. The delegation was taken to a birthday party, got a taste of barbecue and visited the Mississippi River, as Branstad recalled.

"1985年春天，習近平作為河北省正定縣委書記率領一個五人代表團訪問艾奧瓦州。我們在河北時受到了款待，所以我們也熱情迎接，精心安排了這次接待活動?！辈继m斯塔德回憶道。 他說，他們安排代表團參加了一個生日聚會，品嘗了燒烤，并參觀了密西西比河。

“對我來說，你們就是美國”

What's more, upon Xi's request to experience ordinary life in the US, it was arranged for him to spend two nights at a Muscatine resident's house.

習近平要求體驗美國普通老百姓的生活，于是當地安排他在馬斯卡廷一戶居民家住了兩晚。

Through the arrangement by Sarah Lande, then president of the Iowa Sister State Friendship Committee, Xi slept in Gary Dvorchak's Star Trek-themed bedroom while the latter was away at college.

在前艾奧瓦州友好省州委員會委員薩拉·蘭蒂夫人的安排下，習近平住在房東兒子的臥室里。當時，房東德沃切克夫婦的兒子蓋伊·德沃切克正在外地上大學。

Xi also dined at Lande's house and saw her go to a neighbor's house to get some ingredients to make a meal.

習近平也去了蘭蒂家吃飯，看著她為了做飯去鄰居家拿食材。

Years later, Lande described her impression of Xi as a man "who was bright, curious, well-mannered, fun and friendly, who had a smile that transcended into lasting friendship. He was curious … to learn everything that was new when his visit came in Iowa."

多年后，蘭蒂對習近平的印象是："聰明、好奇心強、彬彬有禮、有趣和友好，他的笑容真誠，讓人一見如故。他對一切新事物都有學習的熱情。”

The two-week visit was so memorable to Xi that when Branstad visited China in 2011, Xi received him in the Great Hall of the People.

為期兩周的訪問讓習近平印象深刻，2011年布蘭斯塔德訪華時，習近平在人民大會堂接見了他。

"He had an itinerary from 1985. He went on and on and called us old friends and mentioned all the people," Branstad said. "I think we did make a very good impression."

"他拿出了1985年的訪美日程表，侃侃而談當年的很多事，稱呼我們'老朋友'，所有人他都還記得，”布蘭斯塔德說。 "我認為我們確實給他留下了非常好的印象。"

In February 2012, Branstad met Xi when he visited the US as China's vice-president.

2012年2月，布蘭斯塔德見到了作為國家副主席出訪美國的習近平。

"We went into the archives and found a picture of him and his delegation with me behind my desk on April 29, 1985," Branstad said. "I autographed it and gave it to him and said, 'Now, would you autograph one for me?' And he did."

布蘭斯塔德說：“我們查看檔案，找到了一張1985年4月29日拍的老照片，是我與習近平及其代表團成員在我辦公室里的合影。我簽了名送給他，然后說，'現在你能給我這張簽個名嗎？' 于是他也簽了名。”

Xi visited Muscatine to enjoy a reunion with his friends from more than 20 years before. Xi told them: "My impression of America came from you. To me, you are America."

習近平訪問了馬斯卡廷，與20多年前的好友重聚。告訴他們：“我對美國的初步印象都來自你們。對我來說，你們就是美國。”

農業(yè)成為一條重要紐帶

Xi also visited a local farm where he visited a farmer's house and tried his hand on a tractor.

習近平還參觀了當地的一個農場，在農場主家中與主人交流，還親自操作了拖拉機。

Farmer Rick Kimberley remembers Xi's visit vividly.

農場主瑞克·金伯利對習近平的來訪記憶猶新。

"The day of the visit started very early. A lot of security and media arrived early before Vice-President Xi. That ramped up the anticipation and the nerves," Kimberley recalled.

"訪問活動當天很早就開始了。許多安保人員和媒體早早到達了農場。這讓我更加期待和緊張，”金伯利回憶道。

Once Xi arrived, Kimberley felt more at ease and relaxed. "It put me at ease because he had smiles on him. A warm greeting by him kind of helped with the nerves. I could tell he wanted to be there, wanted the discussion. It's almost like a friend at that time," Kimberley said.

習近平到達后，金伯利感覺自在輕松多了。 "他面帶微笑，我馬上就放松了。他熱情的問候緩解了我的緊張。我看得出，他很想看看這里，想和我們交談。我們一見如故?！苯鸩f。

The home and farm visit lasted about an hour, and Kimberley said he was impressed by Xi's knowledge of agriculture. "The questions he asked about agriculture, I knew he knew quite a bit about it."

家庭和農場訪問持續(xù)了大約一個小時，金伯利說他對習近平的農業(yè)知識印象深刻。 "他問到一些關于農業(yè)的問題，我一聽就知道他是個內行?！?/p>

The visit put Kimberley on a path to promote agricultural exchanges between the US and China. By his own account, Kimberley has visited China about 20 times since Xi's visit to his farm. He is involved in a major project to build a Kimberley Farm model in Hebei to help China farm more efficiently.

此次訪問后，金伯利成為中美農業(yè)交流的推動者。 據金伯利自述，他去過中國20多次，還參與了河北的金伯利農場項目，幫助中國提高農業(yè)生產效率。

"兩個有趣的故事"

During Xi's second visit to Iowa, then governor Branstad hosted a state dinner in honor of Xi.

習近平第二次訪問艾奧瓦州期間，時任州長布蘭斯塔德為他舉辦了一場盛大的宴會。

Kenneth Quinn, former president of the World Food Prize Foundation and former US ambassador to Cambodia, was especially touched by one particular remark made by Xi at the dinner.

世界糧食獎基金會前主席、美國前駐柬埔寨大使肯尼思· 奎因被習近平在晚宴上的一段話深深打動。

"He quoted Mark Twain, who wrote about 19th-century life along the Mississippi River and American Midwest. He spoke about how the memories of seeing the sun over the Mississippi River were so deeply ingrained within him," Quinn said. "I could not recall ever hearing a foreign leader speak so movingly about my country. That brought home to me the power of citizen diplomacy."

"他引用了馬克·吐溫的話，后者筆下描寫的是19世紀密西西比河沿岸和美國中西部的生活。他談到當年密西西比河日落景象一直留在他心底?！笨蛘f。“我不曾聽過其他外國領導人如此動人地談論我的國家。這讓我明白了民間外交的力量?！?/p>

The next day, while escorting Xi to the agricultural symposium there, Quinn told Xi that he might be one of the few Iowans who shook Xi's hand as well as Xi's father's hand, when Xi Zhongxun went to Iowa in 1980.

第二天，在陪同習近平參加中美農業(yè)高層研討會時，奎因告訴習近平，他可能是少數幾個有幸和習近平以及他的父親習仲勛都握過手的艾奧瓦人之一。

"The vice-president literally stopped in his tracks; his eyes got very big, a big smile on his face, and he said to me, 'You have two very interesting stories,'" Quinn said.

"習近平聞言停下腳步，睜大眼睛，露出燦爛的笑容，風趣地說，'那你有兩個有趣的故事了！'”奎因說。

Xi Zhongxun visited Iowa in 1980 as the governor of Guangdong province, while Quinn, as a Pearson fellow at the US State Department, was tasked to escort the senior Xi around Iowa.

1980年，時任廣東省省長的習仲勛訪問艾奧瓦州，當時在美國國務院任職的奎因陪同習仲勛在艾奧瓦州考察。

To this day, Quinn said he believes that the senior Xi's visit to the Amana Colonies, a former communal living structure, might have helped China's leaders push for agricultural reform in China, which dramatically increased China's food production.

直到今天，奎因仍相信，習仲勛當年的訪問對中國領導人推動農業(yè)改革產生了積極作用。

Later, Quinn commissioned a local artist to do a painting about Xi's and his father's visits to Iowa with the president's words as the title Two Interesting Stories. It now hangs at the World Food Prize Hall of Fame.

后來，奎因委托當地一位藝術家，創(chuàng)作了一幅關于習近平和他父親訪問艾奧瓦州的畫作，標題就是“兩個有趣的故事”。 這幅畫現在掛在世界糧食獎名人堂。

Quinn said the bonds forged between Xi and Iowans prove that the US and China, which have quite different philosophies of governance, could have a genuinely friendly relationship. "There could be this experience that would be so meaningful that it could override some of the other irritants in the relationship," Quinn said.

奎因說，習近平和艾奧瓦州人民之間建立的深厚情誼充分證明，中美兩國，雖然治理理念不同，但仍可以建立真正友好的關系。 “習近平與美國艾奧瓦人民交往的美好經歷意義深遠，可以幫助兩國關系在遭遇困難時，超越分歧聚焦合作，”奎因說。

英文來源：中國日報

記者：MAY ZHOU

翻譯：彭娜