That Kind Gentleman from China And His US Hosts

A Chinese young man in Iowa

“He’s always kind to everyone， always like this，” Eleanor Dvorchak murmurs， looking out of the car window at paddy fields in Hebei. The vast green farmland sent her mind wandering back to Iowa 30 years before.

In 1985， the Dvorchak family received a call from Mrs. Sarah Lande， a member of the Iowa Sister States， a non-profit NGO， asking if they would like to receive the member of an agricultural delegation from Hebei Province to stay for a few days. Why not？ Eleanor and husband Thomas said to each other. Their two sons， Gary and Mark were studying in college， so their room was available.

Many years later， they told the rest of the family the decision stemmed from their interest in China， and having a Chinese guest would be no trouble at all.

Yet， at that time， the China-US relations were still shrouded in the on-going cold war. From the founding of the PRC to the end of the 1960s， in order to prevent China and the Soviet Union from forming an alliance and encroaching on American interests in Asia， the United States adopted a policy of military encirclement， economic blockade and diplomatic isolation， so that relations were in a deep freeze. Not until the 1970s did they begin to ease against the backdrop of changing international situation.

Diplomatic relations had been established just six years when the Dvorchaks made their decision， but there were few bilateral exchanges， and the people of the two countries still had limited knowledge on each other. It was quite an admirable decision full of goodwill to open one’s door to Chinese strangers.

Soon， the Dvorchaks met at home a polite， kind young Chinese man who was curious about everything in the United States. It was his first visit to that country. In addition to asking questions about American society， culture and agricultural technology， he also told his host family many things arousing their own strong interest in China. Because of him， the couple and their daughter paid a visit to China in the following year to see for themselves what had been described by their Chinese guest.

Three days and two nights went by in a flash. Upon departure， the young man presented the Dvorchaks with a bottle of the Chrysanthemum liquor made in Hebei. Eleanor treated him to homemade pop-corn. “I kept the liquor for years and shared an occasional glass with friends on a special occasion. It reminded me of my Chinese friend，” Thomas recalled. One might have assumed the story ended then.

Reunion of old friends

In 1996， after retirement， Thomas and Eleanor moved to the warm southern state of Florida， planting trees and flowers and helping homeless pets. At the beginning of 2012， a call from their old friend Sarah Lande in Iowa changed their settled lives again. “I remember she asked whether we would like to go back to meet a Chinese friend，” Thomas told us during a dinner. “You know there’s quite some distance between Florida and Iowa， and the climates are different. We were in our seventies， so we don’t really feel like going all that way.” However， then they were told： “He’s the Vice President of China now， the man who stayed in your house 27 years ago”. This immediately helped the Dvorchaks to make up their mind to go.

On February 13， 2012， Vice President Xi Jinping visited the United States. He met with the US President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials， emphasizing the importance of the sound development of Sino-US relations and win-win cooperation. On February 15， Xi traveled in the rain and snow to Iowa to see his old friends， including the Dvorchaks.

The visit 27 years earlier left him with a deep impression. During that visit， he not only learned advanced agricultural technology from the U.S.， but also realized that the people of China and the United States had much in common， and there’s huge space for cooperation. “To me， you are America.” His words warmed the hearts of everyone present.

At the end of the reunion， Xi invited various American friends to visit China later in the year. Unfortunately， the Dvorchaks could not join the trip due to their health condition. Instead， their daughter Paula visited China in June as a member of the Iowa Old Friends Delegation headed by Governor Terry Branstad.

Eleanor always joked about becoming a famous “landlady” after Xi’s visit. Several media outlets contacted her， hoping to hear more about the story between the American old couple and the Chinese vice president. What we did was simply receiving a Chinese delegation， the couple repeatedly insisted. Such honesty and warmth may originate from the Croatian immigrant family into which Eleanor was born. However， the most precious part of this story is the natural amity between China and the United States， two great nations with similar vast territory， rich culture and industrious people.

Reunion in China after 30 years

The year 2013 arrived quietly. In August， Gary， the older Dvorchak son， settled down in Beijing with his wife and two daughters for work. Around the same time， his younger brother Mark took many business trips to China. The son of their sister Paula attended Chinese language courses at school. The link between the Dvorchak family and China has grown ever closer.

In early 2015， the Dvorchaks decided to visit Gary and his family in Beijing， and they hoped to meet their famous Chinese friend during the visit. By now， this man had become the president of China.

No matter how occupied with his duties， the kind young man from years ago cherished profound feelings towards his former American “landlord and landlady”. In April 2015， President Xi Jinping hosted a private welcoming dinner for the Dvorchaks and their family， reviewing the shared memory with his old friends coming from afar.

“He even remembers every detail from back then. Either he has a very good note taker， or he has an amazing memory！” As soon as they left the dining room， the Dvorchaks could not wait to start talking to each other in an excited way. They did not notice the dinner had lasted nearly two hours and the streetlights along the Chang’an Avenue had been lit up.

Of the reunion between old friends after nearly 30 years， what remains unchanged is the sincere friendship； what has changed the most is the fast progress of China. During the visit， the Dvorchaks were shown with all kinds of new developments in the country — towering skyscrapers， convenient high-speed trains， enterprises with advanced production and RD capability， and innovative schools focusing on education for all-round development of the students.

“This is amazing， unbelievable.” Sitting in the Café on the 38th floor of the new CCTV tower， they marveled to each other.

The Dvorchaks repeatedly said that they hold dear to the 30 years of friendship with President Xi Jinping. Now， the younger generations of the Dvorchak family have established close ties with China. They hope this friendship will be passed on to future generations and serve as a bridge of China-US friendship.

“Probably Gary’s daughter will find a Chinese boyfriend when she grows up，” Eleanor joked， blinking at the rest of us and making everyone in the room burst out laughing. Amid the laughter， we began to picture what stories there would be between China and this family and the people of the United States they represent in the next 30 years.