Ohio and Hubei province became the first sister state/province pair between the U.S. and China in 1979 but this friendship has been largely marginalized in recent years. The prevailing view of competing with China was a hot-button issue during the 2022 midterms election and is helping to bring new opportunities to Ohio. In 2022, Intel announced plans to build a $20 billion chip factory near Columbus. First Solar, a U.S. company which emphasizes its independence from the Chinese solar component supply chain, is also investing in Ohio. However, trade and business with China remain strong in other areas. Ohio’s export to China has exceeded $3 billion every year since 2010. In 2021, goods exports to China grew by 17% and were valued at $3.6 billion. An estimated 10,600 Chinese students are studying in Ohio in the 2021/2022 school year contributing approximately $345 millions to the state’s economy. Corporations headquartered in Ohio, such as P&G, count China as a major market. Investments from Chinese companies have also steadily grown. Fuyao Glass, the $700 million Chinese investment that revitalized the economy of the Dayton area, has generated over 2,000 jobs since 2014. Shanghai-based Semcorp plans to invest $916 million to build a manufacturing plant in Sidney for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. 

Ohio has generated steady and consistently high total revenue from exporting to China for years, with goods exporting not falling below $3 billion in value since 2010, with an average of $3.3 billion from 2008-2017. In 2021, Ohio maintained this steadiness, with goods exports to China growing by 17% and valued at $3.6 billion. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, service exports from Ohio to China fell by -26%.

Ohio’s total earnings from exporting to China during the trade war did not show a significant dip in total value despite the blow to its agricultural sector. Ohio has been historically dependent on China’s purchasing of soybeans–in 2018, 61% of Ohio’s soybeans were being purchased by China. Yet despite the exporting of oilseeds and grains dropping significantly at the time, Ohio’s total goods exporting value to China has not dipped below $3 billion since 2010. This is owed in part to the diversification of Ohio’s exports. The success of Ohio’s continued exporting to China in total revenue however does not diminish the fact that many industries in Ohio have been affected by the trade war and continued tariffs. Small businesses in Ohio have been feeling the squeeze, as many are unable to find alternative sources for components, and have been denied requests for tariff exclusions (the USTR denied 87% of applicants from the start of the trade war through January 2020), and those that did qualify expired by the end of 2020. To illustrate, Down-lite International Inc, a family-owned business in Mason, Ohio has been hit by U.S tariffs on one of its key raw materials of imported Chinese feathers for its specialty bedding–however, its tariff exemption lapsed in late 2020 and has not been reapproved, hurting business. The company currently employs several hundred workers.

While Ohio’s top export to China of oilseeds and grains surged in 2021, its secondary and tertiary exports have been in flux; exports of aerospace products and parts fell by 20% while plastic products increased by 29%. As a result of pandemic, Ohio is gaining momentum as a worldwide low-cost center for plastics production due to its advantages in cost, economic climate, and market access; Ohio’s facilities are located within a day’s drive of 70% of the nation’s end-to-end plastics industry supply China as well as over ⅓ of the U.S.’s natural gas production.

In 2021, as midterm elections approached, competition with China was a hot-button issue for candidates. Incidentally, Intel announced in January 2022 plans to build a $20 billion chip factory to increase American competitiveness in semiconductor manufacturing. Furthermore, Ohio is gearing up to challenge China’s dominance in the world’s solar industry with major investments by First Solar, a US-company which emphasizes its independence from the Chinese component supply chain. Yet business continues; Semcorp (a Shanghai-based company) is investing $916 million to build a manufacturing plant in Sidney, Ohio for EV (Electric Vehicle) batteries. Fuyao Glass, a Chinese company which has made over 2,000 jobs in Ohio, was visited in September by Ambassador Qin Gang. Purdue University made headlines in a national news account in December 2021 for a Chinese student’s harassment.

China ranks as Ohio’s leading place of origin for international students in 2021, with an estimated 10,651 students in attendance. This marks an estimated -13% decrease in enrollment of Chinese students from 2021 to 2022, and a -23% decrease from 2020 to 2022.

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