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Oregon China Council reports $5.38 billion in 2024 exports to China; Fujian vice governor and Chinese consul general urge deeper ties
Summary
At a June 3 informational meeting, the Oregon China Council presented its 2024 annual report showing strong export growth to China, and visiting Fujian Vice Governor Wang Jing Fu and Consul General Zhang Jinmin called for expanded trade, green cooperation and people‑to‑people exchanges.
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon China Council told the Oregon China Sister State Committee on June 3 that Oregon exported $5.38 billion in goods to China in 2024, a 33% increase from the prior year, and estimated those exports supported roughly 22,000–25,000 jobs in Oregon.
"Oregon exported $5,380,000,000 in goods to China, which is a 33% increase over the previous year," said Shanbo Zhang, identified in the meeting as secretary general of the Oregon China Council. Zhang told the committee that the export total represented about 17% of Oregon's global trade and cited growth in wheat, nursery and specialty crops, marine and health products and other categories.
Shanbo Zhang and Steven Ying presented OCC's 2024 highlights to the committee, noting an increase in wheat exports (presented at $53,800,000 in the report) and growth among small and medium‑sized Oregon businesses selling to China. Zhang also said that, applying U.S. International Trade Administration estimates, every $1 billion in exports supports about 5,000 to 6,000 U.S. jobs, leading OCC to estimate 22,000–25,000 Oregon jobs tied to the China export figure and more than 35,000 when imports and logistics jobs are included.
The committee received remarks from visiting officials. Wang Jing Fu, vice governor of Fujian province, reviewed Fujian's demographics, infrastructure and economic profile and outlined three cooperation priorities: green, low‑carbon development; enhanced trade and economic cooperation; and deeper people‑to‑people ties, including participation in the 2025 China‑U.S. Youth Choir Festival. Wang closed his remarks by saying, "I wish prosperity and long standing friendship between our two states."
Consul General Zhang Jinmin of the People's Republic of China addressed tariff friction between the two countries and framed subnational ties as a stabilizing force. "There is no winner in a tariff or trade war," Zhang said. He cited Oregon State Law Chapter 285A as the statutory basis for the sister‑state committee and referenced SCR 32, a state senate resolution he described as encouraging trade offices, legislative visits to China and port and shipping cooperation. Zhang urged continued subnational exchanges and said they provide a reliable basis for people‑to‑people ties.
OCC also summarized its 2023 goodwill mission to China — including memoranda of understanding between cultural institutions and a Crater Lake–Wuyishan national‑park MOU — and outlined plans for future cooperation in trade, education, culture and climate. Committee members asked no substantive follow‑up questions during the formal presentations and closed the informational session before moving to a work session to authorize a delegation to China.
The committee's informational meeting included presentations by OCC staff and visiting Chinese officials; no legislative policy changes were adopted during the informational portion of the meeting.
