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Iowa’s Lieutenant Governor, Kim Reynolds, met with China’s Vice President, Xi Jinping yesterday to further solidify the relationship Iowa and China have been building over the past three decades. Xi Jinping had previously traveled to Iowa this February and stopped at a Soybean and Corn Farm. China has been looking for ways to feed its growing population by studying Iowa’s fields. It isn’t a one way relationship either. DuPont, a Des Moines based company with a plant in Mt. Pleasant, announced a new research hub that will be opening in China, says DuPont Vice President based in Bejing, Dr. William Niebur. He says the innovation made there will be used in Iowa’s future fields. But, partnering with China could have downsides for area farmers. With China looking to increase yields based on a system modeled from Iowa, the United States could lose business from a country that, according to the Ainsworth Co-op, is the biggest importer of Soybeans from the United States. But Niebur says as China experiences a higher standard of living that comes from a better agricultural system, they will look for more protein in their diets, which could mean good things for Livestock producers in the state.

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