CCP Investors Pose A Threat to U.S. Food and Defense Security

According to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on foreign ownership of U.S. land, 146 Chinese investors have purchased U.S. land about twice the size of New York City since 2021. The 366 parcels of land amounted less than 1 percent of the foreign-held land worth $2.1 billion. The issue of ownership of land in the U.S. by Communist China has reignited debate. It is reported that Communist China holds 383,935 acres of U.S. land since 2021. Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Department of the Air Force, has strongly opposed the construction of a corn processing plant near a North Dakota Air Force base by the Chinese biomanufacturer Fufeng Group. Senators Hoeven and Cramer argue that the agriculture project should be developed by a U.S. company. The congressmen called for new legislation to make clear that Communist China’s proposed project poses a significant threat to national security and that it has to be a crime. Other members of Congress have called for a ban on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) purchases of farmland anywhere in the United States. However, several bills have been introduced in recent years looking to limit or prohibit foreign investment in U.S. land, but none has been passed. In August 2022, senator for Arizona Tom Cotton with his colleagues introduced a bill to “direct the President to take such actions as may be necessary to prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate located in the United States by the Chinese Communist Party.” “Chinese investments in American farmland put our food security at risk and provide opportunities for Chinese espionage against our military bases and critical infrastructure, providing opportunities for Communist China’s espionage in the United States,” Cotton stated at the time. Also, congressman Ralph Norman noted that foreign investors from China are controlled by the Chinese government and that the CCP has become increasingly hostile towards America.