EXCLUSIVE: Anti-ICE Minnesota Mayor Took Free China Trip From Communist Influence Group, Signed Collaboration Deal Expanding Beijing’s Reach
The delegation even visited historic Mao sites…
Several American mayors, including local leaders from Minnesota who have publicly opposed funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), traveled to China last fall on an all-expenses-paid delegation organized by a communist, pro-China influence group.
The benefactor - the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA) - is a group that belongs to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front influence apparatus, which seeks to influence overseas politics in favor of China.
Leading the delegation was Kim Norton, the mayor of Rochester, Minnesota. Norton’s participation in the trip, which ran from October 23 to November 2, 2025, is revealed as she has been a leading voice calling for ICE to leave Minnesota and cut their funding all while defending Somali fraud in her state.
A Free Trip Framed as “Diplomacy”
The delegation traveled to four Chinese cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Xianyang to “engage with people in local governments, universities, and businesses to explore pragmatic cooperation in healthcare, education, environmental governance, and sustainable economic development.”
Officials were hosted at conferences, university research institutions, public hospitals, industrial sites, and municipal offices. They participated in structured dialogue programs such as the Yangtze–Mississippi River Dialogue in Wuhan focused on river basin cooperation, and visited historic and government venues.
The itinerary also took the delegation, including Norton, on a special tour of Mao Zedong’s Villa (Meiling), a historic site intimately tied to the founder of the Chinese Communist Party.
USHCA and the United Front
USHCA presents itself as a nonprofit dedicated to “subnational diplomacy” and “people-to-people exchange.” However, this euphemistic spin masks the organization’s ties to China’s United Front Work Department.
Chinese Communist Party leaders have openly characterized United Front work as a core tool of their external influence strategy. Xi Jinping described the United Front as an “important magic weapon” for subverting politicians abroad.
Participants and Concerning Activities
USHCA’s published delegation roster confirms that the supervised trip included six U.S. local leaders representing a range of communities across the Mississippi River Basin and beyond. In addition to Norton, the delegation included:
Mayor Deborah Feinen, Champaign, Illinois
Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Mayor Dan Gibson, Natchez, Mississippi
State Senator Hillman T. Frazier, Mississippi’s 27th District
Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, Shelby County, Tennessee
Across the ten-day trip, the delegation engaged in activities that included:
Participation in the 7th China–U.S. Sister Cities Conference with provincial and municipal officials focused on services ranging from public health to urban innovation.
High-profile visits to industrial and research sites in Hangzhou focused on environmental governance and digital medicine.
A structured Yangtze–Mississippi River Dialogue in Wuhan emphasizing environmental protection, logistics, and youth engagement.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Xianyang to reaffirm sister-city cooperation and expand collaboration in sectors including education, healthcare, technology, and youth exchanges.
Focus on Kim Norton
Norton served as delegation lead for the trip, representing Rochester across panels at the China–U.S. Sister Cities Conference and specific innovation sessions. She signed a memorandum of understanding with officials from Xianyang.
The Xianyang cooperation agreement signed during the visit reaffirmed expanded exchange across educational institutions, youth programs, and technology initiatives — areas that China’s United Front work often prioritizes as strategic fields for long-term influence.
As USHCA recounted:
“The Xianyang visit concluded with a meeting between the delegation and municipal officials, followed by a signing ceremony formalizing a new memorandum of understanding between the City of Rochester and Xianyang. The renewed memorandum reaffirmed both cities’ shared commitment to “further deepen the sister-city relationship, advance practical cooperation and leverage complementary strengths.” The agreement committed the two cities to “explore areas of common interest and potential collaboration,” including “economic development, trade and investment, education, health, technology, and cultural exchange,” while encouraging ongoing dialogue, experience sharing, and opportunities that support “sustainable and mutually beneficial development.”
It also emphasized people-to-people ties, with both sides agreeing to “encourage partnerships between educational institutions,” promote academic and youth exchanges, and support programs that foster “cross-cultural understanding and friendship between the people of Rochester and Xianyang.” By pledging to “maintain regular communication” and support connections among public institutions, private enterprises, and community organizations, the five-year agreement provided a clear, forward-looking framework for continued collaboration at the local level.”
Norton has not publicly addressed questions about how her travel to China was funded, whether local constituents were informed in advance, or whether the delegation’s activities were disclosed to appropriate oversight bodies.
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