China: Xi's four-decade bond with Iowan friends bolsters China-U.S. ties.

Shotlist Muscatine, Iowa, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of city view, traffic, flower 2. Various of Sarah Lande, reporter talking 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Lande, member, "sister state" organization (starting with shot 2/partially overlaid with shot 4): "When we visited China as part of this, 'old friends coming again', I was able to sit next to Madame Peng and she said, 'I just had to meet the people from Iowa and find out why my husband was so fond of them.'" ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 4. Chinese Painting ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ FILE: Muscatine, Iowa, USA - 1985 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 5. Various of photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping Muscatine, Iowa, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 6. Sarah Lande introducing photo FILE: Muscatine, Iowa, USA - 2012 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of Xi Jinping during his visit to Muscatine Muscatine, Iowa, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dan Stein, chairman, Muscatine-China Initiatives Committee (starting with shot 7/ending with shots 9-10): "It's really been a tremendous ride. When (former Iowa Governor Terry) Branstad became the ambassador to China, that took it to a whole another level. Then, people on the grass floor like Sarah and Luca have really carried the torch and kept the relationship alive and brought in everybody else that's really benefited from the relationship." 9. Photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping 10. Sarah Lande looking at photos Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 11. Aerial shot of river, city view, traffic 12. Students 13. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Pei Hongxia, principal, Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School (staring with shot 12/ending with shots 14-17): "In 2023, we and our old friends in Iowa were already discussing the possibility of a new program for our youth -- one that would enhance exchange visits between students from our school and young people in Iowa. That's how we launched the 'Inheritance of Friendship Study Tour.'" FILE: Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 14. Various of foreign students experiencing Chinese culture 15. Students posing for photos 16. Performance in progress 17. Students walking Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 18. Various of student from Shijiazhuang Wang Xiyan chatting with student from Iowa Sophia Catherine Cronin via video chat; screen FILE: Des Moines, Iowa, USA - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 19. Various of photos of Wang Xiyan, Sophia Catherine Cronin Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 20. SOUNDBITE (English) Wang Xiyan, student, Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School (ending with shot 21): "This is the first day I arrived there. I was still a bit nervous. But, she talked a lot with me about her high school life, which made me feel a little bit more relaxed." 21. Screen showing photo Des Moines, Iowa, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 22. Various of screen showing photo; Sophia Catherine Cronin introducing photos 23. SOUNDBITE (English) Sophia Catherine Cronin, student (starting with shot 22/partially overlaid with shot 24): "We were both shy, both nervous, but it was nice to have that first impressions and first connections as well." ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 24. Screen showing photos ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++ 25. Sophia Catherine Cronin studying Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 26. Wang Xiyan playing table tennis 27. SOUNDBITE (English) Wang Xiyan, student, Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School (starting with shots 25-26): "I think overall, we're more similar than different. We share the same hobbies and we share the same dreams." FILE: Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - 2025 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 28. Wang Xiyan playing table tennis with Sophia Catherine Cronin Des Moines, Iowa, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 29. SOUNDBITE (English) Sophia Catherine Cronin, student (ending with shot 30): "We are so similar in many ways. We have similar interests. We both like to read books. We have similar music tastes." FILE: Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - 2025 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 30. Various of students tying cards on wishing tree; Wang Xiyan, Sophia Catherine Cronin talking Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 31. Cards of New Year's wishes Storyline A decades-old friendship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and residents of Muscatine, Iowa, continues to shape China-U.S. exchanges across generations. Sarah Lande is