Two recent University of Iowa graduates are introducing Iowa City to China, Germany, Switzerland, and France through sweets.

Jiang, who graduated from the University of Iowa just last week, said the idea and execution of his new bakery has been months in the making.

U.S.-China ties are even more important in light of Presidents Obama’s and Xi’s commitment to increasing Mandarin language learning in the U.S.-also known as our 1 Million Strong initiative – which aims to see 1 million U.S., K-12 students learning Mandarin and studying in China by 2020. “The goal is ambitious, but the need is urgent,” observes Carola McGiffert, CEO of 100K Strong, in a recent op-ed.

As Jeffrey Ding prepares to part ways with the University of Iowa he reflected on the “amazing opportunities” he’s received while at the UI, which include being awarded four distinguished recognitions.

Beijing is vast. I’ve been here the span of seven Hawkeye football wins, and the city’s vastness is overwhelming at times. The vastness is geographical. At 6,000 square miles – larger than Connecticut – the city’s rings stretch outward into rural villages masquerading as suburbs. Try taking the subway from the northwest corner of the city, where Peking University is located, to Yizhuan Culture Park, in the southeast corner; the bus or taxi through typical traffic will take even longer. The vastness is also historical. It reaches back through Mongol, Chinese, and Manchu dynasties, when the city was passed back and forth among occupiers.

I love words. The paradox of love is it both requires an expression of totality but also one of discernment. When you love a person, the first attribute that comes to mind may be her beguiling smile, the way her voice sounds when she’s flustered, or the beauty mark on her elbow. What I love most about words is their capacity to express exactly what I – who I am in a particular context at that specific moment – would like to communicate. And I think in piecing together these words that contain our truths in their meanings we just may be able to find some kind of ultimate meaning.

Professors at the University of Iowa are seeing more Chinese students in their classrooms, so they’re taking extra steps to make them feel comfortable. This program pairs Chinese-speaking student tutors with faculty and staff in one-on-one sessions at the beginning of every semester.

Fifteen small businesses in Iowa opened their doors to University of Iowa students to find out how they could market their products to Chinese consumers. Tippie College of Business Professors Lon Moeller and Jay Christensen-Szalanski decided to add a bilingual hoop for students to jump through with this semester's online Introduction to Law course. "We were trying to make the course more accessible to (UI's Chinese students) so they could better understand it and then in the process take advantage of the skills that they have and have them work together with the native English-speaking students," Christensen-Szalanski said.