U.S. Heartland China Association meet in Chicago with America’s agricultural leaders to help the CCP embed in America’s agriculture, food and healthcare systems. (Credit: Natalie Winters)
A secretive Chicago meeting ignored by the mainstream press brought several dozen Chinese Communist Party officials face-to-face with America’s agricultural leaders.
The U.S. Heartland China Association (USHCA) pitched it as a harmless “forum,” but the real agenda was far more consequential: embedding Beijing into U.S. agriculture, food, and healthcare systems. The USHCA has a long history of enabling the CCP takeover American farmland.
Held August 25, 2025, the “Heartland Connect for Trade and Investment” event was co-hosted with the China General Chamber of Commerce–Chicago (CGCCC).
Who Was There (And Who Wasn’t)
The press release admits more than 150 participants from 17 states and D.C. attended, while a Chinese delegation of 45 representatives flew in from Beijing, Shanghai, Henan, Liaoning, and Shaanxi. Senior representatives from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) were present. Both organizations are well-documented instruments of Beijing’s espionage and influence strategy.
Among the Americans lending legitimacy to the gathering were Kim Norton, the mayor of Rochester, Minnesota, and Nathaniel Booker, the mayor of Maywood, Illinois.
Even more troubling was the corporate lineup. Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, moderated multiple panels — sitting side-by-side with CCP officials.
Jim Sutter (l), Kim Norton (Wikipedia), and Nathaniel Booker (DUI mugshot) are selling out America’s heartland to the Chinese Communist Party.
The organization refuses to publish a complete attendee list. There is no disclosure of who signed commitments, who brokered side deals, or which U.S. institutions left with new Chinese partnerships. Noticeably absent were watchdogs, critics, or any national-security voices.
This was not an open exchange. It was a carefully staged access point for CCP-linked groups to burrow deeper into America’s heartland.
The Influence Pipeline