Talking China With Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds

Candace Allsup talks with Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds Tuesday afternoon at Smokey Row

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Homework many times is a boring experience, seeming to take up time one would rather spend doing something else. One local middle school student got a rare opportunity to sit down and talk to Lt Gov Kim Reynolds about China for a social studies project.

Thanks to the Lt. Governor for taking the time from her schedule for this, it was an amazing experience to watch as 12 year old Candace Allsup sat down for a 1 on 1 interview. The following is a copy of her interview.

When you were in China what attractions did you see such as the great wall, the Forbidden City, etc?

“I got to see the Great Wall and I got to visit the Forbidden City, and I got to see the summer palace when I was there the second time, as well as, I had the opportunity to go to Beijing and Shusha Shuang and Shang Yong and Haerbin.”

Would you like to describe your time in China?

“I had an amazing opportunity to lead a trade mission to china. I had 40 individuals that went on the trade mission with me, some of them were business owners, some were commodity groups, and so it was a wonderful opportunity to highlight Iowa and the importance of us to export to china as well as encouraging them to invest in Iowa.”

Where did you stay in China?

“We stayed in hotels in each one that we went to. The first one we went to when I was in Beijing and then we went to Shusha Shuang which is in Hebei Province and we had the Vice President of China visiting us last week (in Iowa) and actually Shusha Shuang is our sister state so in Hebei province and that’s a sister state of about 28 years.”

What are the people like?

“They are extremely very nice, very friendly, very warm, the most unbelievable hospitality, they really want you to go away with a good feeling of their country and people. Large Banquets and they really just tried to showcase their city.”

What is China’s economy like?

“It’s growing and, in fact, they are one of the few economy’s that are growing. I think it’s like double digits for the last five years and continuing to do that. They are the largest nation in the world, they are the number one importer of Iowa soybeans and when the vice president was in Des Moines last week with the minister of agriculture and they actually signed a contract to purchase 4.3 Billion dollars worth of soybeans.”

What foods did you eat while in China?

“Well I’m not sure what I was eating some of the time because, like I said, they had BIG banquets and it was like course, after course, after course, and a lot of times we weren’t sure what we were eating, but for the most part it was good and I was not afraid to try it. The funny thing is we always knew we were at the end of the banquet when the fruit arrived, so they would bring a tray of fresh fruit and that was the last part of the meal.”

What was it like to meet the Chinese Vice President?

“It was amazing. I can’t even believe that I had the opportunity to do that. He loved Iowa. He was here 27 years ago, the governor met with him in his office and he remembered meeting with the Governor. He remembered meeting and staying with people down in Muscatine. Very easy to visit with, and I loved hearing him talk about his visit here 27 years ago. We hope to go back again and visit with him. I’m actually going back to china on March 17 and I hope I get a chance to say hi to him while I’m over there.”

Why did the Chinese Vice President come to Iowa?

“Because you know what, because of that relationship really. That’s… I mean, sometimes people wonder why we go on trade missions to foreign countries. But especially in China: the relationship, getting to know each other, government to government, is really important and he really demonstrated that. So because the Governor met with him when he was just like a county supervisor in Hebei province, but he [Gov] treated him [Xi] like he was so happy to have him come to Iowa and to meet with him. He [Xi] remembered that, so he wanted to continue to build that on that relationship and they went to Washington D.C. , Iowa, and to L.A. California.  And they were asking him, ‘How come Iowa?’ and he said, ‘Because when I think of America, I think of Iowa; the heartland of America’.”

What Iowa companies did you get to visit while in China?

“I got to visit Musco Lighting the second time that I went, they have an office over there, and I visited Pioneer and Vermeer.”