On August 18, 2021, Ambassador Qin Gang had a virtual meeting with old friends of Iowa Mrs. Sarah Lande and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn.

Ambassador Qin conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping and his wife Professor Peng Liyuan to Mrs. Lande and Ambassador Quinn and to other old friends of Iowa. Ambassador Qin expressed high appreciation and respect to them for their long-term commitment to promoting friendly exchanges and sub-national cooperation between China and the United States. He stressed that people-to-people relations underpin state-to-state relations and it was hoped that the two peoples will strengthen friendly exchanges, bridge misunderstanding with friendship and replace suspicion with trust. He also expressed wishes to see more fruitful cooperation between China and Iowa.

Mrs. Lande and Ambassador Quinn extended welcome to Ambassador Qin for assuming office. They said that the U.S.-China friendship has a profound foundation, and they greatly cherish their sincere friendship with President Xi Jinping and Professor Peng Liyuan. They believed that stable development of U.S.-China relations meets the common expectation of the two peoples, the U.S. and China should strengthen cooperation, and they will continue to make positive efforts for the friendship between the two countries.