Senate Republicans are launching an effort to bar Chinese citizens from buying land in the US
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FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators are introducing legislation that would completely ban China from buying American land.
The Not One More Inch or Acre Act, led by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Katie Britt of Alabama would require the sale of land owned or “influenced” by the CCP that is considered a national security risk. It would direct the president to take action to bar Chinese citizens or companies from buying public or private real estate in the US.
China owned about 350,000 hectares of farmland in 27 states last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
As of 2022, foreign entities and individuals held 43.4 million acres of U.S. farmland, nearly 2% of all U.S. land
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Lawmakers have argued that China’s land purchases pose a national security risk because many of them are located near military installations. They have been Chinese citizens for years tried to breach American military facilities, often using surveillance drones or posing as tourists.
“For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has gobbled up America’s farmland and real estate,” Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.
“At best, this subjects American land and resources to the best interests of China, not America — at worst, these purchases serve as outposts for Chinese espionage campaigns against American companies and military bases. We cannot allow Chinese nationals or anyone associated with the CCP , own another inch of American soil, and any American land exploited by current Chinese ownership should be sold.”
Some countries have already banned foreign nationals from buying land.
Smithfield Foods, which has a Chinese parent companyconstitutes the largest share of Chinese-owned land with 110,000 hectares.
Chinese land purchases in 2022 sent concerns to a boil when food producer Fufeng Group bought 370 acres for corn milling near an Air Force base in North Dakota.
“One acre of American farmland owned by the Chinese Communist Party is an acre too many,” Britt said. “The CCP’s strategic acquisition of agricultural land, especially near our military installations, is not only a national security risk, it is a threat to our economic and food security.”
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That prompted the Biden administration to propose a rule that would require any foreign company or individual that wants to buy land within 100 miles of certain U.S. military bases to get government approval.
Last month, a Chinese national was arrested at San Francisco International Airport before he could board a flight to China on charges that he tried to fly a drone over Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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Efforts to prevent China from buying nearby US farmland American military installations have gained traction among Republicans in both chambers.
“It is of great concern to me that countries like China have increased their purchases of American farmland tenfold over the last decade to control our land and threaten our food, energy and national security,” Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, who led the effort in the House of Representatives. banned China from buying agricultural land suitable for energy production, Fox News Digital said.
