On February 24, 2024, the Chinese Lantern Festival of the Year of the Dragon, President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from students of the U.S. Muscatine High School delegation to China, and sent them Chinese New Year cards. He extended holiday wishes to them and all the teachers and students of the school, and encouraged more young Americans to come to China for exchange and study.

Noting the students' beautiful handwriting of Chinese characters and their vivid hand drawings of the Chinese dragon, Great Wall and panda in the letter, Xi Jinping said he was very pleased to know that the students visited several cities in China, where they saw the giant pandas, tasted Chinese food, experienced Chinese culture, and felt “super happy”. Learning that they have made friends with many Chinese peers and invited them to pay a return visit to their hometown, Xi said he found their friendship very heart touching.

Quoting a Chinese proverb, Xi Jinping said "seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times". He recalled his first visit to the United States in 1985, and noted that he was deeply impressed by the warmth and friendliness of the American people during the trip. Xi expressed the belief that through this visit, the students would have a more direct and deeper understanding of China and the Chinese people. He said the students are welcome to visit China again, and encouraged more young Americans to visit China for exchange and study, so as to have a glimpse of the real China in a multi-dimensional and comprehensive manner, and make heart-to-heart friendship with young Chinese and learn from each other, thus making joint contributions to enhancing the friendship between the people of the two countries.

Xi Jinping said in his letter that today is the Lantern Festival of the Chinese Year of the Dragon and it is an important occasion for the Chinese people to wish for a better life. Xi extended his best holiday wishes to the students and all the teachers and students of their school.

During his visit to the United States in November 2023, President Xi Jinping announced a program to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study in the next five years. Sarah Lande, a friend of Xi in the U.S. state of Iowa, wrote a letter recently to President Xi, in which she expressed the hope that Muscatine High School can join the program. Thanks to President Xi's support, more than 20 students of Muscatine High School visited Beijing, Hebei and Shanghai from January 24 to 30, becoming the first group of American middle school students to visit China under the program. When they arrived in Beijing, they brought with them gifts to President Xi, including a school flag with Chinese characters "Grandpa Xi, Here We Are". After the visit, the students of the delegation wrote a letter to President Xi, sharing their joy and happiness during the visit and thanking him for inviting them to China.