Tennessee’s goods exports to China in 2022 reached $3.6 billion, significantly higher than the average of $2.1 billion per year from 2008-2017. Among the Heartland states, Tennessee has emerged as a leading exporter of medical and navigational equipment. The strong presence of global automotive players in the state have attracted many Chinese component producers to set up operations nearby. But for Chinese companies in Tennessee the business environment has recently proved fraught. In 2023, lawmakers passed a measure restricting property purchases by residents from U.S.-sanctioned countries, including China. Tennessee Congressmen also successfully blocked a potential $200 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department to the Texas-based battery manufacturer Microvast Holdings over the company’s alleged ties to China. Nevertheless, Microvast intends to move forward with a $300 million investment in Clarksville, expecting to create more than 250 jobs, with more to follow. On the education front, many Chinese students enter the university system of the state and go on to contribute significantly to Tennessee’s highly skilled workforce. The Chinese American population has been growing in the state. Among the state’s leaders, Mayor Lee Harris of Shelby County participated in USHCA’s 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China to explore opportunities for city-to-city collaborations around energy transition, climate mitigation, and green economy. 

Tennessee’s goods exports to China in 2022 reached $3.6 billion, significantly higher than the average of $2.1 billion per year from 2008-2017. Among the Heartland states, Tennessee has emerged as a leading exporter of medical and navigational equipment.

Though exporting to China has remained high even in the last few turbulent years, the trade war has impacted Tennessee in other ways. Namely, Tennessee is one of the states hardest hit, weighing imports as a percentage of GDP at 7.3%, with tariffs in turn raising prices for consumers and decreasing their purchasing power. Tennessee’s distilleries and soybeans farmers felt the burn, as well as more unexpected industries such as jewelry, owing to a dependency on Chinese imports, with companies such as Knoxville-based Jewelry Television (with 1,400 local employees) reporting profits dropping by a third.

 The strong presence of global automotive players in the state have attracted many Chinese component producers to set up operations nearby. But for Chinese companies in Tennessee the business environment has recently proved fraught.

Yet despite Tennessee’s goods exporting to China in 2021 marking the state’s highest total on record, the state government has shuttered its economic development office in Beijing, terminating its China-focused staff in addition to halting incentives for Chinese-owned companies. Despite such losses, the Tennessee-China connection exists on every level, including that of small-to-medium Tennessee-based tech companies such as Kyzen, a company which has been operating in China for 30 years cleaning circuit cards and semiconductors in an environmentally-friendly way, or Variable Inc. one of Chattanooga’s foremost tech companies, which stresses the importance of Chinese low-cost component parts allowing small domestic manufacturing to maintain their budgets. The Greater Nashville Chinese Association raised $15,000 in its 2022 Asian-Themed Book Drive for Nashville School Libraries to help students learn more about the histories and contributions of Asian Americans.

In 2023, lawmakers passed a measure restricting property purchases by residents from U.S.-sanctioned countries, including China. Tennessee Congressmen also successfully blocked a potential $200 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department to the Texas-based battery manufacturer Microvast Holdings over the company’s alleged ties to China. Nevertheless, Microvast intends to move forward with a $300 million investment in Clarksville, expecting to create more than 250 jobs, with more to follow.

Among the state’s leaders, Mayor Lee Harris of Shelby County participated in USHCA’s 2023 Heartland Mayors Delegation to China to explore opportunities for city-to-city collaborations around energy transition, climate mitigation, and green economy. 

 On the education front, many Chinese students enter the university system of the state and go on to contribute significantly to Tennessee’s highly skilled workforce.

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