Wisconsin’s goods exports to China reached a value of $2.3 billion in 2022, the highest recorded to date. Among the many agricultural exports from Wisconsin to China is the prized American Ginseng. Most of the American Ginseng exported to China is grown by small family farms, whose livelihood has been negatively impacted by the trade war. The dairy industry of Wisconsin, along with peers from other states, are seeking growth in China, one of the fastest growing dairy markets in the world. Chinese companies have also found opportunities in Wisconsin such as the Chinese-owned ND Paper, which completed the expansion of its mill in Biron helping to reduce energy consumption. Cultural ties are flourishing, exemplified by the Wisconsin Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s Moon Festival event. Educational exchanges between Wisconsin and China have flourished in the past decades. In 2023, amid a shift where India surpassed China as the leading origin for international students in many Heartland states, Wisconsin’s Chinese international student population remained substantial with 37% of international students coming from China. In the 2022/2023 school year, an estimated 5,105 Chinese students, many of them at University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, contributed approximately $132 million to the state’s economy. 

Wisconsin’s goods exports to China reached a value of $2.3 billion in 2022, the highest recorded to date.

Wisconsin was fortunate that, because of the diversity in its exports to China and thanks to the state’s strength in sectors such as industrial machinery and scientific instruments, total export revenue stayed high even as agricultural industries were impacted heavily by the trade war. As Wisconsin’s third-largest trading partner, the state ships out a variety of goods; dairy products, corn, soybeans, ginseng, and cranberries are just some of the state’s agricultural goods reliant on the Chinese market. Wisconsin has been shipping ginseng to China for over a century, with over 95% of U.S. ginseng exports coming from Marathon County, and Wisconsin-grown ginseng is considered a luxury product despite foreign competitors making up the majority of the market; however, but the 7.5% tariff China imposed on ginseng imports during the trade war has hurt the industry. China’s oilseed and grain imports from Wisconsin fell to just $74 million in 2018, but rebounded to $474 million in 2021. Wisconsin was hard hit by China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. dairy in 2019, with export sales in this category dipping to their lowest total in a decade; the industry was also negatively affected by overproduction and plummeting consumption, which resulted in the loss of dairy farms.

Among the many agricultural exports from Wisconsin to China is the prized American Ginseng. Most of the American Ginseng exported to China is grown by small family farms, whose livelihood has been negatively impacted by the trade war. The dairy industry of Wisconsin, along with peers from other states, are seeking growth in China, one of the fastest growing dairy markets in the world. Chinese companies have also found opportunities in Wisconsin such as the Chinese-owned ND Paper, which completed the expansion of its mill in Biron helping to reduce energy consumption.

Wisconsin businesses interested in starting or expanding dairy exports to China were invited to the Wisconsin Pavilion at the 2022 China Dairy Expo in Nanchang. After a two-year pandemic cancellation, the China Lights Wisconsin Festival returned to the Boerner Botanical Gardens in the fall. In early 2022, three bills targeting China were introduced in Wisconsin’s Legislature, all focused on the University of Wisconsin: SB 742 would prohibit admitting or hiring anyone belonging to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, SB 744 would prohibit missions from China to any UW institution, and SB 745 would require disclosure of contracts or gifts from foreign sources. All three bills failed to pass.

Cultural ties are flourishing, exemplified by the Wisconsin Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s Moon Festival event.

Educational exchanges between Wisconsin and China have flourished in the past decades. In 2023, amid a shift where India surpassed China as the leading origin for international students in many Heartland states, Wisconsin’s Chinese international student population remained substantial with 37% of international students coming from China. In the 2022/2023 school year, an estimated 5,105 Chinese students, many of them at University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, contributed approximately $132 million to the state’s economy. 

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