Chinese Daily Photos, 2011 to 2019!

kwaigonegin said:

Iowa actually exports a lot of corn and other farm products to China. If I recalled Xi jinping even made a trip there couple years ago. He seems to like Iowa for some reason.

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DES MOINES, Iowa -- Chances are President Barack Obama won't chat with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad before he opens a high-profile series of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in California, but it might not be a bad idea.

Branstad has perhaps as close and unique a relationship with the new Chinese leader as any politician in the United States — going back decades and strengthened by several meetings in just the last two years.

Experts suggest the U.S. Department of State may have already downloaded Branstad's interactions with Xi and his impressions of the leader of the world's most populous nation.

Experts say those are standard protocols when U.S. dignitaries meet with foreign leaders.

"Absolutely, in circumstances like that, either the ambassador or a very senior embassy officer would want to hear the reactions from a governor or state official who is visiting," said Kenneth M. Quinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia who now leads the World Food Prize in Des Moines. "And certainly if they're meeting with the head of state of the country, they'd want to hear a lot."

Xi assumed the presidency in November, but he and Branstad go back to 1985, when Branstad was serving his first term as governor and Xi visited as part of a sister-state exchange program.

The two have taken to calling one another "old friends" and renewed their relationship in September 2011, when Branstad visited China; again in February, 2012, when Xi returned to Iowa; and yet again just two months ago when Branstad led another trade mission to China with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Branstad wasn't available for comment Thursday, but a spokesman reiterated the connection the two leaders share.

"The Chinese recognize what a special relationship Governor Branstad has with their leader, and in that area of the world, relationship-building is the most important currency when building trade opportunities," Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said.

Typically, a delegation like the one led by Branstad, McDonnell and Walker might receive an initial briefing at the U.S. embassy, get logistical help in navigating their interactions with the Chinese government and be accompanied to high-level meetings by a State Department note-taker.

The carefully scripted official interactions between leaders are transcribed and scrutinized, but diplomats equally emphasize off-the-cuff remarks that come in more informal settings — during tea or as leaders are walking out the door, Quinn said. The data compiled along the way very well might find its way into a report cabled back to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"Everything is thought to be important," he said.

Ronald K. McMullen, a former U.S. ambassador to Eritrea who's now a visiting professor at the University of Iowa, added that federal officials may have looked to Branstad for insights on the dynamics of the new Chinese administration — what aides the president relied on for answers to questions, for example.

"Trying to figure out the dynamics of the new Chinese presidential team are perhaps as important or more important than the substantive content of the discussion with the governor from Iowa," he said.

Branstad's history with Xi may have made his visit even more interesting to the embassy officials watching from the sidelines.

"It's a little bit uncommon to have a governor or a member of Congress with a close, personal relationship with the president of the host country," McMullen said. "What happens typically may not have happened in Governor Branstad's visit given the personal connection between the two."

That connection is authentic, Albrecht said.

"They like each other — it's not just smile for the cameras, pomp and circumstance," he said. "They get along really well, and the governor believes that President Xi is very personable."

Albrecht referred questions on Branstad's interactions with the State Department to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which organized the April trade mission to China. Authority spokeswoman Tina Hoffman confirmed that U.S. Embassy staff accompanied the governors to their meeting with Xi.

"It's very typical for us to work with the local embassies and the State Department ahead of our visits to any country with any official," she said. "Getting the federal counterparts involved is something that makes sense for us."

Xi and Obama face many issues that divide the nations. But the scheduled six hours of meetings at the Sunnylands desert retreat in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will probably end up being more about building closer personal ties during meals and walks.

Though the United States has many items on its agenda, China has signaled no interest in satisfying them.

High on the U.S. agenda will be cybersecurity after several reports of state-sponsored Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. government, commercial and civil organizations. But Beijing denies responsibility and also claims it is the victim of such attacks.

Many analysts expect Xi to talk in broad terms about two of his major political concepts — the "China dream" and the need for a "new type of great power relationship" between the United States and China.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,Republic of Korea, (2nd L) and Executive Committee President of China Energy Fund Committee Chan Chauto (2nd R) unveil the nameplate for the "Shanghai Secretariat of Junior United Nations of Calligraphy" in Shanghai, east China, May 22, 2014. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)

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Former mining tycoon Liu Han, his brother Liu Wei and other defendants are on trial at the Xianning Intermediate People's Court in Xianning, central China's Hubei Province, May 23, 2014. The court announced the verdicts on the first trials of 36 members of an allegedly mafia-like gang led by Liu on May 23. Liu Han and Liu Wei were sentenced to death. The Liu brothers and 34 other defendants were accused of crimes including organizing, leading and participating in a criminal gang and intentional homicide. The trials, which saw 36 defendants simultaneously prosecuted in seven cases, ended on April 19. They were the largest criminal group of its kind on trial in China in recent years. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

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Farmland is flooded after a rainstorm in Jiangdong Village of Dubu Township in Yangshan County in Qingyuan City, south China's Guangdong Province, May 22, 2014. The city was hit by a rainstorm on May 22, causing landslide and traffic interruption in several spots. Local government has started disaster relief work. (Xinhua/Li Zuomiao)

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Visitors look at an amphibian vehicle during the 2014 China West Outdoor and Leisure Industry Expo in Sanmenxia City, central China's Henan Province, May 23, 2014. The expo, which kicked off on May 23, will last until May 25. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

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Roads and buildings are flooded after a rainstorm in Qigong Township in Yangshan County in Qingyuan City, south China's Guangdong Province, May 22, 2014. The city was hit by a rainstorm on May 22, causing landslide and traffic interruption in several spots. Local government has started disaster relief work. (Xinhua/Li Zuomiao)

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Students utlize a government-funded school bus in Ziling Village of Moganshan Town, Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 22, 2014. Since 2009, Deqing county has budgeted 25 million yuan (four million U.S. dollars) for school bus purchasing, with an additional annual subsidy of six million yuan (0.96 million U.S. dollars). The county's 93 customized school buses are now taken by nearly 7,000 students commuting between home and school. The school buses, run and managed by a government-owned subsidiary, are equipped with GPS and video monitoring system to ensure road safety. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

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A government-funded school bus runs on a mountain road in Moganshan Town, Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 22, 2014.

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Dads learn dressing a baby at a Super Daddy Training Camp at Hunan Provincial Children Hospital in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, May 23, 2014. A total of 40 daddies took part in the camp and they would learn baby nurturing skills in a short time under the guidance of paediatricians. (Xinhua/Long Hongtao)

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About 100 reapers prepare to set out to take part in harvesting wheat in Huangxian County of Anyang City, central China's Henan Province, May 23, 2014. China's wheat production areas have entered into a wheat harvest season. (Xinhua/Liu Xiaokun)

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A farmer stands by a reaper before setting out to take part in harvesting wheat in Huangxian County of Anyang City, central China's Henan Province, May 23, 2014. (Xinhua/Liu Xiaokun)

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China will send a team of 16 athletes to participate in the 48th Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka June 19th -22nd 2014.

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KingLouis said:

They don't look like body builders.

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Equation said:

It says "and fitness" competition so they are either fitness models or am-mature athletes. Either way they sure are purdy to me.

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vesicles said:

Check out their perfect abs. They should be fitness experts.

BTW, Equation, is that you in the middle? looking cool!

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Equation said:

LOL...I wish, I'm not that old! As far as their abs, any skinny model can posses them. I'm looking for definition and muscle tone on their shoulders, arms, and legs, but there's hardly any to be a bodybuilder, that's why I think they're more of a fitness model.

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