Why China Matters to Mississippi
In 2022, Mississippi’s goods exports to China reached $1.2 billion, approaching the state’s record high of $1.3 billion in 2012. Mississippi’s trade ties with China have remained stable post-trade war, consistently exporting over $1 billion in goods annually since 2020. Despite the steady trade, China has slipped from third to fourth position among Mississippi’s global trading partners. Compared to other major agricultural states in the Heartland, whose agriculture export to China has grown significantly despite trade tensions in recent years, Mississippi could benefit from stronger promotion efforts and more diverse export channels. The Mississippi Delta region also has a unique but seldom-told Chinese Heritage dating back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, when immigrants of Chinese ancestry were brought in to work the vast agricultural fields. This legacy has been carefully preserved by the Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in Cleveland Mississippi. Current state leaders of Mississippi, aligning with other Heartland peers, are contemplating legislation to restrict foreign land ownership. But interest in engaging with China and learning more about China exists among local leaders, such as Mayor Robyn Tanehill (Oxford MS) and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba (Jackson MS), who were members of the 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China.
In 2022, Mississippi’s goods exports to China reached $1.2 billion, approaching the state’s record high of $1.3 billion in 2012. Mississippi’s trade ties with China have remained stable post-trade war, consistently exporting over $1 billion in goods annually since 2020. Despite the steady trade, China has slipped from third to fourth position among Mississippi’s global trading partners.
Mississippi was averaging around $1 billion in export revenue in the five years prior to the trade war beginning in 2018, which had exporting revenue plummeting 30% from 2017 to just $700 million. Prior to the trade war, ⅔ of all Mississippi soybeans were sold to China–during the dispute however, oilseeds and grains dropped from $369 million in 2017 to just $85 million in 2018.
Compared to other major agricultural states in the Heartland, whose agriculture export to China has grown significantly despite trade tensions in recent years, Mississippi could benefit from stronger promotion efforts and more diverse export channels.
Mississippi is rife with potential avenues of increased trade and potential investment, as evinced by the recent Chinese delegation in summer of 2022. The history of Mississippi’s Delta Chinese community, a story broadly unacknowledged, has been receiving attention in 2022, with websites like Buzzfeed and the Unsung History podcast reporting on the topic both in May.
The Mississippi Delta region has a unique but seldom-told Chinese Heritage dating back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, when immigrants of Chinese ancestry were brought in to work the vast agricultural fields. This legacy has been carefully preserved by the Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in Cleveland Mississippi. Current state leaders of Mississippi, aligning with other Heartland peers, are contemplating legislation to restrict foreign land ownership. But interest in engaging with China and learning more about China exists among local leaders, such as Mayor Robyn Tanehill (Oxford MS) and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba (Jackson MS), who were members of the 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China.
An estimated 3,064 Chinese international students studied in Mississippi during the 2022/2023 Academic calendar year.
This data and content is updated periodically. The most recent update was January 2024.
In 2022, Mississippi’s goods exports to China reached $1.2 billion, approaching the state’s record high of $1.3 billion in 2012. Mississippi’s trade ties with China have remained stable post-trade war, consistently exporting over $1 billion in goods annually since 2020. Despite the steady trade, China has slipped from third to fourth position among Mississippi’s global trading partners. Compared to other major agricultural states in the Heartland, whose agriculture export to China has grown significantly despite trade tensions in recent years, Mississippi could benefit from stronger promotion efforts and more diverse export channels. The Mississippi Delta region also has a unique but seldom-told Chinese Heritage dating back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, when immigrants of Chinese ancestry were brought in to work the vast agricultural fields. This legacy has been carefully preserved by the Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in Cleveland Mississippi. Current state leaders of Mississippi, aligning with other Heartland peers, are contemplating legislation to restrict foreign land ownership. But interest in engaging with China and learning more about China exists among local leaders, such as Mayor Robyn Tanehill (Oxford MS) and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba (Jackson MS), who were members of the 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China.
In 2022, Mississippi’s goods exports to China reached $1.2 billion, approaching the state’s record high of $1.3 billion in 2012. Mississippi’s trade ties with China have remained stable post-trade war, consistently exporting over $1 billion in goods annually since 2020. Despite the steady trade, China has slipped from third to fourth position among Mississippi’s global trading partners.
Mississippi was averaging around $1 billion in export revenue in the five years prior to the trade war beginning in 2018, which had exporting revenue plummeting 30% from 2017 to just $700 million. Prior to the trade war, ⅔ of all Mississippi soybeans were sold to China–during the dispute however, oilseeds and grains dropped from $369 million in 2017 to just $85 million in 2018.
Compared to other major agricultural states in the Heartland, whose agriculture export to China has grown significantly despite trade tensions in recent years, Mississippi could benefit from stronger promotion efforts and more diverse export channels.
Mississippi is rife with potential avenues of increased trade and potential investment, as evinced by the recent Chinese delegation in summer of 2022. The history of Mississippi’s Delta Chinese community, a story broadly unacknowledged, has been receiving attention in 2022, with websites like Buzzfeed and the Unsung History podcast reporting on the topic both in May.
The Mississippi Delta region has a unique but seldom-told Chinese Heritage dating back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, when immigrants of Chinese ancestry were brought in to work the vast agricultural fields. This legacy has been carefully preserved by the Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in Cleveland Mississippi. Current state leaders of Mississippi, aligning with other Heartland peers, are contemplating legislation to restrict foreign land ownership. But interest in engaging with China and learning more about China exists among local leaders, such as Mayor Robyn Tanehill (Oxford MS) and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba (Jackson MS), who were members of the 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China.
An estimated 3,064 Chinese international students studied in Mississippi during the 2022/2023 Academic calendar year.
This data and content is updated periodically. The most recent update was January 2024.
Exports
China's Ranking
In State's Global Trading Partners 2022
#3
Decade Average
Goods Exporting to China
2008-2017 Pre-Trade War
$830 Million
Highest Year on Record
Goods Exporting to China
2012
% State Global Exporting to china
7%
of Goods Exports 2022
6%
of Service Exports 2021
State Ranking in Heartland
#17
In Total Goods Exports Value 2022
#20
In Total Service Exports Value 2021
State Ranking in U.S.
#30
In Total Goods Exports Value 2022
#44
In Total Service Exports Value 2021
China's Ranking
In State's Global Trading Partners 2022
#3
Decade Average
Goods Exporting to China
2008-2017 Pre-Trade War
$830 Million
Highest Year on Record
Goods Exporting to China
2012
% State global exporting to china
7%
of Goods Exports 2022
6%
of Service Exports 2021
State Ranking in Heartland
#17
In Total Goods Exports Value 2022
#20
In Total Service Exports Value 2021
State Ranking in U.S.
#30
In Total Goods Exports Value 2022
#44
In Total Service Exports Value 2021
Partnership
Sister Cities
Mississippi has no sister cities in China.
Sister Partnership
Mississippi currently does not have a sister state relationship with a province of China.
Export Details
2022
Goods Exports
$1.2 Billion
(USCBC Export Report 2023) +9%
1
Oil Seeds & Grains ($508M)
+21%
2
Misc. Crops ($181M)
+0%
3
Pulp & Paperboard Mill Products ($106M)
-43%
2021
Service Exports
$89 Million
(USCBC Export Report 2023) +4%
1
Education ($21M)
-16%
2
Trademark Royalties ($9M)
-1%
3
Misc. Business. Prof. & Tech ($9M)
blank
Jobs
8,910
Jobs supported by exports to China in 2021 (USCBC Export Report 2023)
N/A
Jobs supported by Chinese companies (NCUSR Rhodium Group 2018)
+7
Chinese companies operating in-state (NCUSR Rhodium Group 2018)
1
Information not available
2
Information not available
3
Information not available
Education
(IIE Open Doors 2023)
Top educational Institutions with chinese enrollment
- Mississippi State University
- University of Mississippi
- University of Southern Mississippi
159
Estimated number of Chinese International Students in-State
$21 Million
Estimated revenue added by Chinese International Students (USCBC Export Report 2022)
Chinese-American Population
6,267
(APIAVote 2022)
Goods Exporting
The highest year on record for Mississippi’s goods exporting to China was 2012 at $1.3 billion
$60 million
Chinese Foreign Direct Investment from 1990-2020
(Rhodium Group’s US-China Investment Hub)
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For the states’ trade statistics: USCBC Export Report 2023.
For information relating to Chinese companies operating in-state: Rhodium Group and National Committee on U.S. China Relations’ “New Neighbors: 2018 Update”.
For information relating to Chinese international students: Open Doors’ 2023 Annual Data.
For the population of Chinese Americans in-state: APIAVote’s “2022 AAPI Voter Demographics by State”
For FDI: Rhodium Group’s US-China Investment Hub.
For sister city relationship information: Asia Matters for America by the East-West Center.
For foreign land ownership legislation: Mykel R. Taylor, Wendong Zhang, and Festus Attah. 2023. “Foreign Interests in U.S. Agricultural Lands: The Missing Conversations about Leasing.”