South Dakota more than tripled its export to China from 2018 to 2020.  Not surprisingly, a big part of the state’s $970M exports to China in 2020 are soybeans and pork. Beyond Agriculture, South Dakota is eyeing the Chinese market for further export expansion, especially around manufacturing.  On the inbound investment side, Smithfield, now a Chinese owned enterprise, is the second-largest employer in South Dakota, employing nearly 4,000 people in the state and has one of its largest plants in Sioux Falls.  There is growing appreciation of the importance of educational exchanges with China in the state’s educational institutions. Even though the Chinese American population is small in the state, the history of early thriving Chinese American communities in the Black Hills is still celebrated in local communities each Chinese New Year.