Since moving to Washington in January, I have followed closely what the White House, Congress and the leading think tanks say about China and US-China relations. The comments by senior administration officials about issues such as cyber security and tension on the Korean Peninsula and maritime territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas are frequently red hot.

There is no doubt that the US capital is not just a major source of news and events, it's also where people are extremely good at spinning the news.

So a trip early this week to the Midwestern state of Iowa to cover the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of ties between Iowa and Hebei province was a welcome change and shows how the focus should be on different topics, those at the sub-national or people-to-people level.

Zhou Benshun, Party secretary of Hebei province, shakes hands with Iowa State Governor Terry Brandstad after the signing ceremony for 20 memoranda of understanding between businesses as Hebei and Iowa mark the 30th anniversary of their sister-state relationship. Chen Weihua / China Daily

The enthusiasm for more cooperation exhibited by both Iowans and the some 200 folks from Hebei that attended the occasion was obvious during the visits to schools such as Drake University, and businesses such as Hy-Line International, a genetics company that raises and sells chickens globally, or touring the Kimberley farms, which sell one in every four rows of soybeans to China.

You can tell that everyone feels that by working together the potential for mutual benefits is boundless. This is certainly the message that came from Governor Terry Branstad, Muscatine Mayor DeWayne Hopkins and business leaders.