Tennessee’s goods exports to China have remained consistently high, averaging $2.1 billion from 2008-2017, with 2021 as a bumper year at $3.2 billion. Among the Heartland states, Tennessee has emerged as a leading exporter of medical and navigational equipment. Despite 2021 being the state’s highest year for exports to China on record, the state government closed its economic development office in Beijing and halted incentives for Chinese-owned companies. Regardless, the Tennessee-China connection built over the past decades remains resilient on many levels. The strong presence of global automotive players in the state have attracted many Chinese component producers to set up operations nearby. Small-to-medium businesses in Tennessee such as Kyzen, a company which has operated in China for 30 years, and Variable Inc., one of Chattanooga’s foremost tech companies, remain committed to working with China. On the education front, many Chinese students enter the university system of the state and go on to contribute significantly to the state’s highly skilled workforce. Chinese American population has been growing in the state. The strong support demonstrated by the Chinese American community helped University of Tennessee Professor Anming Hu, a victim of false charges by the China Initiative of the Justice Department, regain his freedom in September 2021.

Tennessee is incredibly diversified in its exports to China, ranking fourth highest amongst the Heartland states; whilst for the majority of states the top three exports account for an average of 75% of their total revenue, in Tennessee, the top three goods exports account for less than half of the state’s trade portfolio with China. This has kept exporting to China consistently high for the state, with the 2008-2017 decade averaging at $2.1 billion in annual revenue, with 2021 as a bumper year at $3.2 billion. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, service exports from Tennessee to China fell by -47%.

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.

Trade nevertheless continues; of the Heartland states, Tennessee is China’s primary supplier in the Heartland region in both medical and navigational equipment, and therefore the primary beneficiary to this expanding market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee helped meet China’s demand for medical equipment as the commodity rose from second to first place position as the state’s top export to China, from $289 million in 2019 to $628 million in 2021, an increase of 117%. China represents the second-largest market for healthcare devices in the world, and in the first half of 2021, China imported 25% more medical equipment compared to the same period the previous year.

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.

China ranks as Tennessee’s leading place of origin for international students in 2022, with an estimated 1,744 students in attendance. This marks an estimated -4% decrease in enrollment of Chinese students from 2021 to 2022, and a -18% decrease from 2020 to 2022. The strong support demonstrated by the Chinese American community helped University of Tennessee Professor Anming Hu, a victim of false charges by the China Initiative of the Justice Department, regain his freedom in September 2021.

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