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Minnesota’s relationship with China dates back to the 1870s, when the first Chinese immigrants traveled to the state, and is expertly chronicled in Sherri Gebert Fuller’s book, Chinese in Minnesota. Over the decades, the bond between China and Minnesota has grown significantly and today Minnesota enjoys many sister-city relationships, academic partnerships, business relationships, and cultural and humanitarian ties.
Minnesota and Shaanxi Province (1982)
Minnesota and the Province of Shaanxi, home of the famous terra cotta warriors,
established a sister-state relationship on October 19, 1982. Minnesota Governor
Al Quie and Shaanxi Governor Yu Mingtao formally signed the agreement at a
ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Minnesota Trade Office and the U.S.-China
Peoples Friendship Association of Minnesota USCPFA-MN jointly manage the relationship
for Minnesota, with the (USCPFA-MN) acting as the executive agent.
Contact: Dong Li, Chair, Minnesota-Shaanxi Sister-State Committee.
E-mail: dongli2k@yahoo.com
Minneapolis and Harbin (1992)
Contact:
St. Paul and Changsha (1987)
Contact:
Rochester and Xianyang (1993)
Contact:
Coon Rapids and Zhaoqing
Contact:
Red Wing and Quzhou
Contact:
Dakota County and Chengde
Contact: LaDonna Boyd
E-mail: lboyd@dakotaelectric.com
City of Ramsey and Loudi (2005)
Contact:
Mankato and Tamsui Township ( Taiwan)
Contact:
The first Chinese students came to Minnesota in 1914 to attend the University of Minnesota. Today, the University is home to the largest concentration of Chinese students and faculty in North America. The University also has one of the few China Centers in the United States and has several alumni chapters throughout China.
The University of Minnesota, along with many Minnesota State Colleges and Universities ( MnSCU) and Minnesota Private Colleges, host thousands of Chinese students and faculty annually, offer programs to study and teach in China, collaborate with Chinese universities on curriculum development and research, among other ventures.
Currently, a comprehensive catalog of academic connections between Minnesota and China does not exist, but there is an ongoing initiative through the Minnesota-China Partnership to document the various connections.
In addition to the abundant connections among institutions of higher learning, an increasing number of K-12 schools are beginning to establish relationships with Chinese schools.
In 1883, Minnesota railroad magnate James J. Hill completed the rail link between Minnesota and the West Coast, which he envisioned as opening exciting trade opportunities with China. He erected an arched pagoda in St. Paul more than 100 years ago honoring his railroad as the "connecting link between China and St. Paul."
While there are countless Minnesota companies doing business with China today, some of the more notable ones are 3M, Cargill, Northwest Airlines, Best Buy, Target, General Mills, Medtronic, Hormel, Imation, Ecolab, Thomson Legal & Regulatory, Carlson Companies, Turck, Hutchinson Technologies, Skyline Exhibits, Polaris, Satellite Industries, and Anderson Corporation.
Today, Minnesota is the eighth-largest U.S. exporter of manufactured goods to China. In 2005, Minnesota's manufactured exports to China increased 71 percent over 2004, making China the state's third-largest export market ($1.2 billion). Coupled with agricultural commodities, trade with China is becoming an increasingly important source of economic growth for Minnesota.
Link to the Annual Export Statistics Report published by the Department of Employment and Economic Development for a detailed summary of Minnesota's exports, including specifics on exports to China.
CULTURAL AND HUMANITARIAN TIES
Today, nearly 20,000 Minnesotans claim ancestral connections to China, which has helped foster numerous ties between Minnesota and China. Additionally, through organizations such as the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association of Minnesota (USCPFA-MN), Chinese American Association of Minnesota (CAAM), Center for Chinese Culture (3C), Children's HeartLink, Global Volunteers, and numerous adoption and religious organizations, our cultural and humanitarian ties are deep-rooted and extensive.
