Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the desire of the Chinese and American peoples for exchanges and cooperation will endure regardless of how bilateral ties evolve, according to state news agency Xinhua, in remarks made ahead of an anticipated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in April.

Xi made the comments in a reply on Monday to a New Year greeting from Iowa businessman Luca Berrone and others, rekindling a personal connection dating back four decades.

Iowa Links Revisited

Xi first visited Iowa in May 1985 as a young provincial official leading a delegation from Hebei to its “sister state” to study agricultural practices. The visit has since been frequently cited by Beijing as a symbol of grassroots U.S.-China friendship.

“The hope of U.S.-China relations lies in the people,” Xi wrote in his response, Xinhua reported.

In 2022, Xi sent a similar New Year message to Sarah Lande, another acquaintance from his Iowa trip, stressing the need for stability in bilateral ties during a period marked by pandemic-related tensions.

Trade Tensions and Tariff Threats

Relations between the world’s two largest economies have remained volatile. In October 2025, Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese imports, intensifying economic pressure.

However, diplomatic engagement later that month in South Korea led to a one-year extension of a trade truce. Under that framework, Washington agreed to scale back certain tariffs in exchange for Chinese commitments to curb illegal fentanyl flows, resume U.S. soybean purchases and suspend rare earth export restrictions.

The leaders also held a surprise phone call in early February that addressed Taiwan and broader security issues. Trump said Xi had indicated China would consider increasing soybean imports from the United States, with Iowa a key producing state.

Revival of People-to-People Ties

Despite official friction, 2025 also saw a revival in informal exchanges. American users migrated to Chinese social media platform RedNote after Washington threatened a ban on TikTok, while an online trend dubbed “Chinamaxxing” embracing aspects of Chinese culture and technology gained traction among younger Americans.

Analysts say Beijing has increasingly sought to highlight such grassroots connections to counter strategic rivalry at the government level.

Trump has said he plans to visit China in April, with Xi expected to travel to the United States towards the end of 2026.

(with inputs from Reuters)