A Mayor’s Cross-Cultural Journey
Yiwen Bi
It was our honor to meet and speak with Champaign Mayor Deborah Feinen in January 2026, after her recent trip to China. Mary Mahaffey and I were excited to learn about the trip, hear her insights, and discuss how the visit could benefit our local community, particularly the Chinese population. We had a wonderful hour-long conversation in Mayor Feinen’s office, where the atmosphere was warm, friendly, and relaxed.
In many smaller cities in the U.S., the mayor’s position is a part-time job. Mayor Feinen is a successful full-time lawyer who has served on the county board and the City Council, and for the past 10 years, she has been serving as mayor of the City of Champaign. She’s a lifelong community member who truly values diversity and cultural richness and is proud to participate in building a brighter town.
In October 2025 Mayor Feinen took her first trip to China. She was invited by the U.S. Heartland China Association (USHCA), a bipartisan organization committed to building stronger ties between the U.S. Heartland Region and China, to travel with other mayors. During the 11-day journey, the delegation visited Shanghai, Hangzhou (where they attended the U.S.-China Sister Cities Summit), Wuhan (where they attended the Yangtze- Mississippi Regional Dialogue), and other places. Mayor Feinen viewed sharing her experience with the Chinese community in Champaign as an integral part of the trip’s purpose. We’re honored to present this article in our 2025 magazine.
Mayor Feinen described the trip as a wonderful experience and expressed hope for another visit in the future. She felt she gained a little taste of the cultural diversity in the vast nation, which inspired her to explore much more. During the trip, she traveled extensively by bullet train and was thrilled by it. Even though most of the tours were in high-tier Chinese cities, she was also interested in seeing the countryside and would like to discover more rural areas. The cities were futuristic and technologically advanced in ways that the United States is still striving to achieve, which made them eye-opening. Mayor Feinen visited one of NONGFU SPRING’s factories that showcased the latest generation of manufacturing technology. Only a few people were present, and the rest of the work was handled by technology such as bottle filling.
China’s current emerging workforce is not enough for its total population. As a result, the shortage has forced innovative ideas that the
U.S. hasn’t been pressured to the same degree. China has accelerated that innovation to maintain factory production without relying on an active workforce. Mayor Feinen found this development fascinating.
As she traveled by subway and experienced security screenings in different cities, Mayor Feinen was struck by how efficiently everything operated. So many people, during rush hour, traveling to and from work moved through a process which was well run and organized. She never felt overwhelmed, and it’s hard to imagine if Americans in New York City could adapt to such a system.
A few other mayors in the U.S. were in the group. Mayor Kim Norton of Rochester, Minnesota, has traveled with a group twice and introduced it to Mayor Feinen. When USHCA reached out, Mayor Feinen recognized the connection and eagerly looked forward to the opportunity. A couple of reasons immediately jumped into her mind. The University of Illinois has approximately 6,000 Chinese students, and Champaign is a melting pot where Chinese culture is prevalent. An article published in The New York Times even ranked Champaign number one in the nation for Chinese food. Particularly given the current climate of national-level relations, Mayor Feinen thought it was important for Chinese residents in Champaign to know that the city continues to welcome them and cares about all students, their families, professors and others. She believed a great way to convey the message was to go on the trip and then share the experience, so that at a subnational level the city would like to maintain relationships and learn from others.
While Mayor Feinen was in Hangzhou, she attended the 6th Annual U.S.-China Sister Cities Summit. Champaign doesn’t currently have a sister city in China, but it’s valuable to learn more about the connections between Chinese and American cities, such as educational exchanges. The conference integrated into the trip was a great chance to build ties without taking away from tax funds or city services.
It was a formal event with protocols and strict recognition of the people in charge and the speakers. What Mayor Feinen really came to love and wished the U.S. could incorporate into similar conferences was the informal communication and people’s genuine interest in one another. She emphasized the respectful and open conversation, such as during formal and multi-course dinners, that led to deeper connections. Participants stood up, walked around to toast one another, and chatted informally. The format encouraged all guests to talk to everyone at the table, not just those on her left and right, and people were sincerely curious about her city. This approach allowed for natural and meaningful interactions.
During the trip, Mayor Feinen visited several Chinese universities and even met with people related to the U of I. Westlake University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was founded in 2018, and as a young institution, it embraced an ambitious goal of catching up with American universities in science education and research. Being in Wuhan and seeing the students and their housing reminded her of how similarly young people are educated and prepared to take on the world. Despite common Western perceptions about differences in Chinese education, Mayor Feinen emphasized that people across cultures share similar priorities, including the success of younger generations and the well-being of the aging population.
Mayor Feinen also met with people from Gotion, a new energy battery manufacturer in China. One of the leading engineers there was a U of I graduate. The company has built an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Manteno, Illinois. Mayor Feinen mentioned an opportunity for connection through Research Park. Located in the southwest part of the U of I campus in Champaign, Research Park is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research. As Gotion continues to develop its technology, perhaps Research Park could be a place the company wants to engage with.
She also tasted a fruit tea that incorporates a special yellow flower with health benefits. It has a long history of being offered to emperors and it tasted amazing. The company was looking for American markets for their product, and Mayor Feinen recommended Champaign-Urbana and its large market.
Even Nongfu Spring was considering a new plant in the U.S. as it begins to bring its products into the country. Mayor Feinen thought Illinois is uniquely positioned because of its governor and the DCEO (Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity), which is open to relationships with international companies and creates potential for economic development with Chinese corporations.
In Xi’an, Mayor Feinen gained a glimpse into China’s long history. She found the Terracotta Warriors incredible. The sites were vast, and archaeologists were still in the process of unearthing more. Advanced technology nowadays helped preserve the soldiers more effectively. Each one showed a different facial expression and body gesture, and together they formed an entire army.
She also recalled her strong impression on the Zenghouyi Bells, an ancient set of musical instruments unearthed in 1978. The bells were made in 433 B.C. During our interview, Mayor Feinen was wearing a necklace modeled after them.
In Wuhan, she attended the Yangtze- Mississippi Regional Dialogue, where attendees shared best practices from their respective cities, including work in climate change, crop resilience and medical technology. The group of Chinese mayors and presenters there was scheduled to visit Rochester, MN, in September 2026 for the next round of dialogue in the U.S. Mayor Feinen stated that this kind of subnational exchange benefits each other as the nations are navigating their relationship.
When Mary and I asked her to describe her trip in three words, Mayor Feinen summarized it as “eye-opening, relevant, and meaningful.” She hoped the experience made her more accessible as a mayor, so that people in the Chinese community here would realize she’s willing to hear from them and bridge understanding, that she enthusiastically went to China and wishes to share the experience, values Chinese culture and contributions in Champaign, and recognizes the city’s more than a hundred years of history with China and Chinese students. She hoped the trip would strengthen relationships and help Chinese residents feel more at home in the community.
Zenghouyi Bells, displayed at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. Picture provided by Mayor Feinen.
( Interviewers：Mary Mahaffey and Yiwen Bi )