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Iowans and Chinese say ties have been strengthened over the years by graduate students who stay here to teach and work, Chinese adoptions, and native Iowans who travel across the Pacific to live, work and study. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to Iowa this week is the latest in a growing effort to build business and cultural connections.

Finley, a member of the University of Iowa Net Impact chapter, will speak at today’s Sustainability Summit in the IMU alongside representatives from Coca-Cola, UPS, and Iowa-based Kum & Go. The summit is part of an all-day sustainability effort on campus, to be followed by a UI International Programs-produced WorldCanvass sustainability history presentation in the Old Capitol.

After seven months in the Philippines on a Fulbright grant, returning to graduate school at the University of Iowa is my obligation and my privilege. But the cravings that strike me now are the most visceral manifestations of homesickness I’ve ever known. When I think of breakfast, I want only silog, or pan de sal, or taho. When I think of condiments, I want only vinegar or calamansi or banana ketchup. I wake up craving every variation of pork that Filipinos do so deftly and heart-stoppingly: bagnet from Malate. Sisig from Trellis. Lechón from anywhere.

There’s a lot of fear in our society today. Students who travel learn that fear is for people who don’t get out much. And they learn that the flip side of fear is understanding. Travelers learn to celebrate, rather than fear, the diversity on our planet. Learning in a different culture and place allows us to see our own challenges in sharp contrast, and with more clarity, as we observe smart people in other lands dealing with similar issues.

Jake Krzeczowski watched as a small group of Cubans clothed in white chanted to the beat of drums. The University of Iowa journalism student observed the Santeria religious ceremony in El Bosque Del Rio, Cuba, a forest near Havana.

“I can’t say the word culture enough,” said Krzeczowski, a former Daily Iowan employee. “It’s an interesting place. There’s an absence of materialism, more community, rich culture and people from all walks of life.”

The trip was the first opportunity available for students since President Obama eased travel restrictions to the country for certain study-abroad programs from accredited universities and religious organizations.

Chinese students have flocked to American universities in record numbers in recent years, and officials at Iowa’s regent universities say to keep up they have added advisers and counselors, formed committees to monitor the students’ needs and pay special attention to orientation and language programs.

“China has happened to the United States, period,” University of Iowa Director of Admissions Mike Barron said. “They just simply have a lot of well-qualified students that their own universities can’t handle.”

Nowadays a stream of good economic news is coming from India. Despite persistent poverty, the country has been growing at nearly 9 percent annually for 15 years. Its middle class is expanding by 10 million households each year, and the monied upper class reaps its reward in exotic cars, elite schooling for its children, foreign travel and large residences.

Meanwhile, American corporations race to enter the Indian consumer goods market. But how often do you hear about Indian artists or about the thirst among parts of the Indian public for painting, music, sculpture and design?

This is the focus of a small conference on the state of Indian arts today, Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa — and of a WorldCanvass program on Friday night that is free and open to the public.