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(xí)近平口中的“老朋友"。從前州長、大使到當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)場主，艾奧瓦州人民深情回憶起習(xí)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(xí)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(nóng)業(yè)高層研討會中，布蘭斯塔德講述了他多年來與習(xí)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(dāng)年即與中國河北省結(jié)成友好州省關(guān)系。1984年，作為州長的布蘭斯塔德帶領(lǐng)一個50人的訪問團(tuán)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(xí)近平作為河北省正定縣委書記率領(lǐng)一個五人代表團(tuán)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。”布蘭斯塔德回憶道。 他說，他們安排代表團(tuán)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(xí)近平要求體驗(yàn)美國普通老百姓的生活，于是當(dāng)?shù)匕才潘隈R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(xí)近平住在房東兒子的臥室里。當(dāng)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(xué)。

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(xí)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(xí)近平的印象是："聰明、好奇心強(qiáng)、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(xué)習(xí)的熱情?！?/p>

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(xí)近平印象深刻，2011年布蘭斯塔德訪華時，習(xí)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(dāng)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(rèn)為我們確實(shí)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(xí)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(xí)近平及其代表團(tuán)成員在我辦公室里的合影。我簽了名送給他，然后說，'現(xiàn)在你能給我這張簽個名嗎？' 于是他也簽了名?！?/p>

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(xí)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(nóng)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(xí)近平還參觀了當(dāng)?shù)氐囊粋€農(nóng)場，在農(nóng)場主家中與主人交流，還親自操作了拖拉機(jī)。

Farmer Rick Kimberley remembers Xi's visit vividly.

農(nóng)場主瑞克·金伯利對習(xí)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(dāng)天很早就開始了。許多安保人員和媒體早早到達(dá)了農(nóng)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(xí)近平到達(dá)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(nóng)場訪問持續(xù)了大約一個小時，金伯利說他對習(xí)近平的農(nóng)業(yè)知識印象深刻。 "他問到一些關(guān)于農(nóng)業(yè)的問題，我一聽就知道他是個內(nèi)行。”

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(nóng)業(yè)交流的推動者。 據(jù)金伯利自述，他去過中國20多次，還參與了河北的金伯利農(nóng)場項(xiàng)目，幫助中國提高農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)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(xí)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(xí)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(jì)密西西比河沿岸和美國中西部的生活。他談到當(dāng)年密西西比河日落景象一直留在他心底?！笨蛘f?！拔也辉犨^其他外國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人如此動人地談?wù)撐业膰?。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(xí)近平參加中美農(nóng)業(yè)高層研討會時，奎因告訴習(xí)近平，他可能是少數(shù)幾個有幸和習(xí)近平以及他的父親習(xí)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(xí)近平聞言停下腳步，睜大眼睛，露出燦爛的笑容，風(fēng)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(xí)仲勛訪問艾奧瓦州，當(dāng)時在美國國務(wù)院任職的奎因陪同習(xí)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(xí)仲勛當(dāng)年的訪問對中國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人推動農(nóng)業(yè)改革產(chǎn)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(dāng)?shù)匾晃凰囆g(shù)家，創(chuàng)作了一幅關(guān)于習(xí)近平和他父親訪問艾奧瓦州的畫作，標(biāo)題就是“兩個有趣的故事”。 這幅畫現(xiàn)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(xí)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(guān)系。 “習(xí)近平與美國艾奧瓦人民交往的美好經(jīng)歷意義深遠(yuǎn)，可以幫助兩國關(guān)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