Then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (C) addresses a luncheon jointly hosted by his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, the United States, Feb. 14, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)
Xi told his old friends: "You were the first group of Americans that I came into contact with. My impression of the country came from you. To me, you are America."
This short stopover displayed the power of personal diplomacy.
"Even though it was raining, it was a glorious day in Muscatine," recalled DeWayne Hopkins, mayor of Muscatine.
"President Xi is no stranger to the United States," U.S. President Barack Obama said when meeting with Xi in June 2013 at Sunnylands.
