UI student thrilled to attend 'significant' state dinner for Xi

IOWA CITY - University of Iowa student Xuyang Han said it was thrilling for him to attend Wednesday's state dinner at the Iowa Capitol and hear a leader from his home country, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, declare his belief that China and the United States must build their friendship and economic partnership.

“I think China and the U.S. are really two of the most important countries in the world. That's got to be the tendency of the future,” said Han, 20, a UI senior and president of the UI Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

Xi, expected to be the next president of China and leader of the country's Communist Party, visited Muscatine and Des Moines this week.

Xi was impressive and would be an excellent leader for China, Han said.

“That would be a great thing,” Han said. “He was saying that it's such a great friendship between China and U.S. and is such a valuable friendship.”

Han didn't get to meet Xi during the state dinner, though he did get a picture of the vice president with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad from just a few feet away, and a picture of Xi's dinner plate and name tag. He waited for about 30 minutes in the hopes of talking to Xi, but the crowd was too big and Xi's time limited, Han said.

“I was so close to him, but there were some bodyguards,” Han said. “They keep saying that just wait, just wait, he's busy right now.”

Han did meet the U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, who is quite famous there, Han said. He also met the Chinese foreign minister and sat at a table with some of the business people in the Chinese delegation. They were surprised when Han told them how many Chinese students study at Iowa's public universities - more than 3,500 this academic year.

“Everyone was very friendly,” Han said. “It was an excellent opportunity.”

Han, a senior studying pre-law and international relations and politics with a minor in German, knew it was a long shot to get an invitation to the state dinner. Just a few days before the event, he found out from the Chinese Association of Iowa that he would be attending. His keepsakes include the invitation, the menu and many of the business cards he collected from government and business officials that night.

Han's family in China told him what an excellent opportunity it was for him to meet such important people.

“I was excited to experience such a significant event of U.S. and China ... relationships,” Han said. “I think it marks a really significant shift.”