【Name】State of Iowa, IA, also called as the “Hawkeye State”. The name was originated from the Ioway Native American tribe.

【Geography】The state has a total area of 145,747 square kilometers, ranking the 26th-largest by area in the United States. It is located in the Midwestern United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west.

【Population】The population is approximately 3.238 million (2025 data), ranking 32nd in the United States. Racial and ethnic composition: White 84.5%, Hispanic or Latino 5.6%, Black or African American 4.1%, Asian 2.4%, Native American 0.5%, and other 2.9%. 

【History】The Iowa Territory was created on July 4, 1838, and the state of Iowa was admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846, as the 29th state of the United States. Since the 19th century, building on agricultural development and the expansion of rail transportation, it has gradually become a major hub for corn, soybeans, pork, and biofuels in the United States.

【Politics】The current governor is Kim Reynolds. The capital and the largest city is Des Moines, and its mayor is Connie Boesen.

【Economy】Iowa has a highly developed agricultural sector. It is a major hub for the U.S. corn, soybean, pork, ethanol, and agricultural machinery industries, and sectors such as insurance, finance, food processing, biofuels, and agricultural machinery manufacturing are growing rapidly.

In 2025, its nominal GDP was approximately $277.1 billion, ranking 31st in the United States, with real GDP growth of 1.2%; per capita GDP was approximately $85,570, ranking 24th in the United States; and total exports of goods amounted to $16.2 billion. The total trade volume with China reached USD 1.865 billion, including USD 1.109 billion in imports from China and USD 756 million in exports to China.

【Sister Cities with China】Iowa and China’s Hebei Province established a sister state relationship in 1983. Sister city relationships were established between Des Moines and Shijiazhuang (1983), Dubuque and Handan (1995), Cedar Rapids and Tangshan (1997), Cedar Falls and Laibin (2012), Muscatine and Zhengding (2013), and Davenport and Langfang (2018).