Officials from Principal Financial Group Inc. were scheduled to wine and dine the Chinese ambassador to the United States on Sunday and Monday in an effort to help the world’s most populous nation reform its troubled pension and retirement system.

The executives from the No. 1 U.S. manager of 401(k) retirement plans are also hoping that the hospitality they show Ambassador Yang Jiechi will improve relations between Principal and China and eventually yield opportunities to provide fee-based retirement services to that country’s 1.3 billion citizens.

Principal already has two Chinese offices, in Beijing and Shanghai, and has for the past two years been researching that country in an effort to develop retirement plans that could work for Chinese companies. As the ownership of Chinese businesses increasingly moves from the government to the private sector, there is a growing need for private-style pension plans.

“Because there is no security blanket, private companies need to set up their own plans,” said Norman Sorensen, Principal’s senior vice president for international asset accumulation. “We are at the forefront of that process by assisting the government with their reform plans.”

Principal has hosted Chinese dignitaries before. Three and a half years ago, the company played host to Li Zhaoxing, then Chinese ambassador to the United States. He is currently the country’s foreign minister, a position that’s equivalent to the U.S. secretary of state.

On Sunday, Principal was to host a formal dinner at the Embassy Club, the private dining club located at the top of the 801 Grand building, for Ambassador Yang. Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels was scheduled to attend.

Sorensen said Principal would make presentations to Ambassador Yang on Monday. The Chinese market for retirement services could eventually grow to be worth several hundred million dollars annually, Sorensen said.

“China is clearly a major opportunity for the Principal,” he said.

Ambassador Yang was also expected to visit top leaders at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. on Monday before returning to Washington, D.C., on one of Principal’s jets.

Principal’s international operations continue to grow. In October, the company agreed to buy pension fund manager Afore Tepeyac SA de CV from three Mexican companies for roughly $58 million, making Principal the fourth-largest manager of retirement funds in that country.

Four days before the ambassador’s visit, the Iowa Senate passed a resolution calling on the United Nations to recognize the Republic of China, the formal name for the government of Taiwan.

The purpose of the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Black, D-Newton, was to reward the island nation for its support of the United States and for its purchase of about $2.8 billion in Iowa-grown corn and soybeans over the past four years.

“The fact that a Communist Party member is coming to Iowa is certainly one that we appreciate and we applaud the initiative to have that individual here,” Black said. “At the same time, we have to dance with those who are our friends.”

Though tensions between mainland China and Taiwan have eased in recent months, the People’s Republic of China government strongly opposes formal recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign nation.