Chambana Sun

Marking an agreement to bring Illinois students and scientists to Hangzhou, China, on cultural and environmental goals, Gov. Bruce Rauner recently toured Wanxiang facilities in the Chinese city and met with the company's leaders during his international trade mission, according to a press release.

“I’m personally committed to helping Illinois grow and helping Wanxiang grow,” Rauner said in the release. “I am pushing for initiatives underway to help Illinois be more attractive to investors, making government more efficient with the use of new technology and continue to improve our education, innovation and training systems.”

The company agreed to fully fund the Wanxiang Fellows Program at the University of Illinois, which will send students and scientists to study sustainable green energy technologies and Chinese culture.

Gov. Bruce Rauner

“Since 2012, our growth has been mainly driven by innovation,” Wanxiang President and CEO Lu Weiding said in the release. “Our goal is to continue to increase investment in Illinois especially in clean energy technology. Plus, we want to attract research institutions and technology innovation companies to come to Hangzhou and work with Wanxiang in innovation and entrepreneurship programs as part of the Wanxiang Innovation Energy Fusion City project.”