Our relationship with the country is strong, and their growing middle class means increasing purchasing power, and Iowa stands to gain significantly as a resultUS beef had been bae尊国际网站nned from China since 2003 due to a mad cow disease scare" When Branstad was receiving a Chinese trade delegation as Iowa governor in March, he remarked that he would like to be able to enjoy a bite of US beef at the US embassy in BeijingMeetings are planned for the delegation with Chinese government officials, industry partners and Branstad in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an, Shaanxi provinceIowa Governor Kim Reynolds is leading a trade mission to China that will feature officials from groups representing the state's major agricultural producerse尊国际网站Reynolds, who succeeded Terry Branstad as governor when he became the US ambassador to China on May 22, noted that agricultural "is the backbone of Iowa's economy and contributes about $112 billion to our economy annually"