As a top agriculture state, ranking #2 for soybean production and #1 for pork, Iowa enjoys a robust bond with China, the world’s largest agricultural importer. 2022 marked the highest year on record for Iowa’s goods exports to China at $4 billion, which is much higher than the $2.2 billion average between 2008-2017. Iowa’s significance in U.S.-China agricultural trade was further illustrated by the many high-level bilateral agriculture forums that have taken place in the state. Most recently, contracts for multi-billion-dollar purchases were signed by Chinese buyers at the “U.S.-China Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum” in Des Moines in October 2023, an event organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and China Chamber of Commerce (CFNA), in conjunction with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Soybean Association. Rich exchanges between Iowa and China have flourished following the establishment of Iowa’s sister state/province relationship with Hebei Province in 1983. Iowa has also benefited from a unique friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spent 6 months in Iowa early in his career. During his visit to San Francisco in November 2023 to attend APEC, many of Xi’s “Old Friends” from Iowa, including Ms. Sarah Lande, former Governor of Iowa Ambassador Terry Branstad, and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, were invited to the special reception and dinner in his honor. However, with accusations of seed sample theft endorsed by the Chinese government, China has become a polarizing topic in the state.

As a top agriculture state, ranking #2 for soybean production and #1 for pork, Iowa enjoys a robust bond with China, the world’s largest agricultural importer. 2022 marked the highest year on record for Iowa’s goods exports to China at $4 billion, which is much higher than the $2.2 billion average between 2008-2017.

This total is only more remarkable due to the low Iowa suffered as a result of the trade war starting in 2018, with Iowa’s goods exporting to China dropping over -50% from the previous year to just $1 billion, experiencing one of the most difficult slumps in the Heartland. The majority of this upset came from the halting of sales of soybeans, turning the oilseeds and grains industry from a $1.6 billion profit in 2017 to just $398 million in 2018. This in turn means that as part of its recovery, Iowa has since undergone an increase in goods exporting to China of 250% in just three years.

Iowa’s significance in U.S.-China agricultural trade was further illustrated by the many high-level bilateral agriculture forums that have taken place in the state. Most recently, contracts for multi-billion-dollar purchases were signed by Chinese buyers at the “U.S.-China Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum” in Des Moines in October 2023, an event organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and China Chamber of Commerce (CFNA), in conjunction with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Soybean Association.

The Iowan-China connection remains strong, owing to the unique rapport that 40 years of cultural exchange, diplomatic dialogue, and agricultural trade has fostered. This affinity took center stage in the Spring of 2022, when Iowa entered into a historic trade deal with China, having sold two bulk purchases of corn with a combined value of $700 million, “one of the largest purchases of corn ever by China or any other country.” This deal was announced during the first-ever U.S.-China High Level Agricultural Dialogue jointly organized by USHCA and China Agricultural Association for International Exchange (CAAIE) which took place April 21st in Des Moines, Iowa. Ambassador Nick Burns, Ambassador Qin Gang, and former Ambassador Terry Branstad provided in-person remarks to over 200 high-level participants. The event concluded with a mutual signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between USHCA and CAAIE, committing the two organizations to “consult and collaborate” in future annual ag dialogues. This event took place at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, in the same building which once hosted the 2012 U.S.-China Agricultural Symposium, which now serves as a museum to preserve and celebrate great Iowan legacies such as the singular history shared between China and Iowa through artwork–much of which is thanks to USHCA’s Strategic Advisor, former Ambassador Kenneth Quinn (learn more here). This meeting underscores the weight of people-to-people connections in fostering deeper ties, which will hopefully resume with travel restrictions easing.

 Iowa has also benefited from a unique friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spent 6 months in Iowa early in his career. During his visit to San Francisco in November 2023 to attend APEC, many of Xi’s “Old Friends” from Iowa, including Ms. Sarah Lande, former Governor of Iowa Ambassador Terry Branstad, and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, were invited to the special reception and dinner in his honor. However, with accusations of seed sample theft endorsed by the Chinese government, China has become a polarizing topic in the state.

An estimated 1,643 Chinese international students studied in Iowa in the 2022/2023 Academic calendar year.

This data and content is updated periodically. The most recent update was January 2024.