The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between Wisconsin and Taiwan. Since that partnership was established in 1986, the relationship has grown steadily through trade, agriculture, technology, education, investment, and people-to-people exchanges.

Four decades later, those ties matter more than ever.

Wisconsin’s support for Taiwan has long been bipartisan. Since the Wisconsin Legislature first adopted a resolution supporting Taiwan in 2021, lawmakers have continued to pass pro-Taiwan resolutions in 2023, 2024, 2025, and again in 2026, reflecting sustained bipartisan support in both chambers. This year’s joint resolution reaffirmed Wisconsin’s sister-state relationship with Taiwan and expressed support for strengthening Taiwan’s international profile.

The economic relationship is equally tangible. In 2024, Wisconsin exported more than $660 million in goods to Taiwan, making Taiwan Wisconsin’s third-largest export market in Asia. Wisconsin also imported more than $1.2 billion in goods from Taiwan, making Taiwan its fourth-largest source of imports in Asia. The relationship spans machinery, computers and electronics, transportation equipment, metal products, chemicals, and food products.

Wisconsin ginseng is one particularly visible example of how these ties reach local communities. In 2021, then-Taiwan Representative to the United States Bi-khim Hsiao, now Taiwan’s vice president, traveled to Wisconsin and joined Governor Tony Evers and other state and local leaders at a ginseng promotion event. The visit highlighted a longstanding agricultural connection between Wisconsin growers and Taiwanese consumers.

These mutual exchanges have continued over the past years. Every year, leaders from both parties travel to Taiwan to deepen Taiwan-Wisconsin ties. This July, three Wisconsin elected officials visited Taiwan: State Treasurer John Leiber, State Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara, Republican Caucus Vice-Chair, and State Representative Kalan Haywood, the Assembly Assistant Minority Leader. Together, they represented Wisconsin’s executive branch as well as both chambers of its Legislature—and both political parties.

Taiwanese companies have also become a significant part of Wisconsin’s economic landscape. Foxconn remains the most prominent Taiwanese investment in the state. While the project has evolved significantly from its original plans, the company has continued to develop its Racine County operations, including manufacturing related to servers and AI infrastructure. In 2025, Foxconn planned an additional investment of approximately $569 million and the creation of 1,374 new jobs over several years. The expansion reflects the continuing potential for cooperation between Taiwan’s technology sector and Wisconsin’s strengths in advanced manufacturing.

These connections help explain why Taiwan should matter to Wisconsin beyond the immediate economic relationship.

Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are important to the global economy. The Taiwan Strait sits along major international shipping routes, while Taiwan plays a central role in global technology and semiconductor supply chains. Disruption in the region would therefore reach businesses, manufacturers, farmers, and consumers well beyond East Asia—including here in Wisconsin.

At the same time, Taiwan continues to face significant barriers to participating in the international institutions that address many of these shared challenges.

At the center of that debate is United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758. Adopted in 1971, the resolution recognized representatives of the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations.” The text itself does not mention Taiwan or explicitly determine Taiwan’s political status. Beijing argues that the resolution settled the representation of China as a whole, including Taiwan. Taiwan and a number of governments and legislatures maintain that the resolution did not authorize the People’s Republic of China to represent the people of Taiwan or preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international system.

That distinction has real-world consequences.

Taiwan’s 23.5 million people make significant contributions to international trade, public health, technology, aviation safety, disaster relief, and global supply chains. Yet Taiwan remains excluded from, or has only limited access to, many international organizations and mechanisms dealing with precisely those issues.

Wisconsin’s own experience offers a useful perspective. For 40 years, Wisconsinites have worked directly with Taiwan through business, agriculture, universities, investment, and government exchanges, while lawmakers from both parties have repeatedly recognized the value of that relationship. These ties show that Taiwan is already a constructive and deeply connected member of the international community.

As Wisconsin and Taiwan celebrate 40 years of sister-state ties, the anniversary is not only an opportunity to look back, but also a reminder of what Taiwan can contribute when given the opportunity to participate. Wisconsin has seen that contribution firsthand, and that experience is worth remembering as the international community considers Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the institutions that shape our shared future.

Dennis Yen-Feng Lei is director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.