Rich exchanges between Iowa and China have flourished following the establishment of Iowa’s sister state/province relationship with Hebei Province in 1983 under the leadership of its longest-serving Governor, Terry Branstad, who was later appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to China under President Trump. Iowa has also benefited from a unique friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spent 6 months in Iowa early in his career. Iowa’s strength as a major agricultural producer also matched the import needs of China well. 2021 marked the highest year on record for Iowa’s goods exports to China at $3.5 billion, which is much higher than the $2.2 billion average between 2008-2017. In spring of 2022, China bought two bulk purchases of corn from Iowa 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 by Iowa Corn Growers Association at the 2022 U.S.-China High-Level Agricultural Dialogue jointly organized by US Heartland China Association (USHCA) and China Agricultural Association for International Exchange (CAAIE) on April 21st in Des Moines. Over 200 industry and community leaders participated along with U.S. Ambassador to China Nick Burns (via Zoom) and then-Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang (in person).

With growth at 16%, 2021 marked the highest year on record for Iowa’s goods exporting to China at $3.5 billion. For comparison, Iowa’s total goods exporting revenue average between 2008-2017 was $2.2 billion. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, service exports from Iowa to China fell by -21%.

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.

Despite overall growth in Iowa’s total goods exporting revenue to China, there has been minor disruption owing to supply chain issues. Oilseeds and grains witnessed a 30% boost from 2020 to 2021, for a total of $2.6 billion in profit. Yet shipments of meat products as well as agricultural and construction machinery are down by -29% and -72% respectively.

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.

China ranks as Iowa’s leading place of origin for international students in 2021, with an estimated 1,979 students in attendance. This marks an estimated -32% decrease in enrollment of Chinese students from 2021 to 2022, and a -49% decrease from 2020 to 2022.

This data and content is updated periodically. The most recent update was January 2023.