Governors hail strong ties with China

Editor's note: Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to China, we interviewed 10 incumbent or former governors from the United States on their states' strong ties with China. They all expressed their sincere hope for more Chinese investment in their states. Here's what they say about the future of US-China relations.

Terry Branstad, US ambassador to China and former Iowa governor

"I encourage Chinese investors to look at Iowa. I think, you know, we find Iowa to be a very friendly and supportive, a very accepting state for foreign investment. I think in the near future, there is a lot of opportunity. You know, we are seeing more and more interest, obviously we are interested in the economy."

Doug Ducey, Arizona governor

"Trade is healthy between Arizona and China. We would love opportunities to sell more to China and other opportunities for investment. I think from the franchise business to the aerospace and defense business, we would like to do more business with China. We certainly have thousands of your young people in our state public universities. We love having them, and we want to expand that."

John Bel Edwards, Louisiana governor

"We have a Chinese investment in natural gas for export. Even though the investment, the financing, may come from China, the infrastructure improvement is in Louisiana. And the companies will be employing Louisiana people to actually do the work. So it's one of the situations if we structured properly, it should be mutually beneficial."

Kate Brown, Oregon governor

"We have worked to coordinate and increase Oregon's exports to China and Chinese investment in Oregon. The Oregon-China sister state relations council continues to work with the Oregon-China sister state committee, in order to broaden the opportunities for bilateral relations, trade, business, education, culture and tourism between Oregon and China."

Pete Ricketts, Nebraska governor

"We want to continue to be able to open up the trade opportunities between Nebraska and China for our mutual benefit. China is actually the second-largest trading partner Nebraska has outside North America. I think around $1.286 billion worth of products went to China from Nebraska last year. We had several meetings in Xi'an, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, giving opportunities for Chinese business leaders to meet with US business leaders, and see where the connections were. Opening up the market for US beef in China is a big deal in Nebraska. Nebraska is the number one red meat producer in our country. We are the largest state for cattle-on-feed, and we are the largest exporter of beef as well. About 18 percent of all beef that is exported from the United States comes from Nebraska. That means $1.1 billion for our economy every year. And if we can achieve the same sort of market share in China as we achieved in other countries that could mean a potential 20 percent increase in the export of beef from Nebraska. Potentially another $200 million."

Jerry Brown, California governor

"Our technicians have to work with Chinese technicians to standardize the rules for electric cars, for new energy, for all the different consumer goods like television screens and mobile phones. We have got to make sure that we agree on what the standards are, so we can be more efficient in producing the lower carbon future that the world needs. In general, we want to encourage each other to take more aggressive steps to decarbonize."

Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin lieutenant governor

"We have a fantastic relationship with China, one of which we are pretty proud because in recent years we have increased our imports and our exports, and so we are very proud of that relationship, especially knowing it is a growing relationship. I would like to continue to build good relationships. Just this year, we had another trade mission from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to China. We would like to continue to build on the existing relationships we have, but we would also, as you would imagine, like to see more foreign direct investment. Right now, Wisconsin has about 63 companies that have business over in China, and in reverse, there are only four Chinese companies who have locations here in Wisconsin. We would like to see more investment, and at the same time, we would also like to grow our exports."

Matt Bevin, Kentucky governor

"I see China as a very strong potential partner for Kentucky. I believe this, I have seen it, I have met with people who reaffirm this. I know it to be true. And I want from the governor's office, from the secretary of the economic development office, and from every other office in our state, that we communicate the fact that China is a strong ally and a strong friend, and a strong business partner."

Rick Snyder, Michigan governor

"We welcome more. We actually hope to see more. And I think you are going to see a lot more opportunities. I welcome the Chinese to come. Look at the number of Chinese companies that are huge investors, so we are seeing strong investment from the Chinese back here."

Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas governor

"We want China to be aware of Arkansas in all that we offer. Agriculture is our number one industry, so the fact that China just announced that they are going to allow US rice to be sold there is such an incredible benefit to our state. And I think it will help Arkansas and what we have in agriculture to be more well-known in China."