January 05, 2017
Branstad’s nomination shines spotlight on Iowa internationalism
The significance of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s nomination to serve as the U.S. ambassador to China reaches well beyond his much-reported friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While Branstad’s relationship with Xi will be an asset, so will his experience managing Iowa’s growing integration with the markets and communities beyond America’s borders. From jobs to research to education, Iowa has benefited tremendously from its increasing global engagement — and it would be a tragedy for Iowans to give in to the isolationist sentiment now threatening to subvert our politics.
While studying abroad years ago in Nanjing, I was frequently asked which state I was from. When I replied “Iowa,” a surprising number of my Chinese classmates nodded in recognition. Agriculture and food security are critical concerns to fast-growing countries like China, and the influence of Iowa’s farms and factories reaches across the globe in ways not always apparent from my hometown of Indianola.
Indeed, it isn’t just coastal states with massive port cities that benefit from international engagement and trade. Last year, the Hawkeye State sold $13 billion in exports abroad, supporting more than 100,000 jobs and 2,800 small- and medium-sized businesses.
Read the full article at The Des Moines Register.
More from CNAS
-
Assessing China’s Nuclear Decision-Making
Reports
China’s rapid nuclear buildup is raising questions about how the country makes decisions related to nuclear weapons. This policy brief analyzes that trend by presenting three ...
By Jacob Stokes
-
ChinaTalk: Building Compute in America
Podcast
Despite leading the world in AI innovation, there’s no guarantee that America will rise to meet the challenge of AI infrastructure. Specifically, the key technological barrier...
By Tim Fist & Jordan Schneider
-
U.S., China, and Economic Warfare: A Conversation with Mr. Edward Fishman
Podcast
In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Mr. Edward Fishman, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins to discuss the evolving landscape of e...
By Edward Fishman
-
How a Tsunami Created the Quad
Video
A disaster in the Indian Ocean in 2004 brought together a powerful grouping of nations—Australia, India, Japan and the United States—that developed a diplomatic partnership ba...
By Lisa Curtis
