U.S. states are cutting off Chinese citizens and companies from land ownership

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Skepticism about federal protections spurs surge in laws aimed to firewall states from perceived malign Chinese influence through land purchases.

The Smithfield Foods pork processing plant is seen in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2020. Smithfield Foods is a Chinese-owned company, but its facilities are based in the U.S. | Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty ImagesState lawmakers are producing a wave of legislation aimed at stopping what they say is a clear and growing danger to national security — land purchases by Chinese citizens and companies.

With Washington divided and power increasingly shifting to the states, governors and mayors are making crucial decisions that are shaping our future.last month. “They are buying up our entire food supply chain and when America can’t feed itself and we rely on another country to feed us it becomes a national security issue.

Land purchases “are not being adequately controlled by the federal government, so states are acting on their own,” said Indiana Republican state Rep.and has returned to the House for consideration. That list includes North Korea and Iran, but “concern about China exceeds that of the other four countries,” as a potential risk to the state’s food security, Culp said in an interview.

The efforts follow the discovery and subsequent destruction of a Chinese spy balloon over the continental U.S. in February 2023 and a drumbeat of official warnings about Beijing’s national security threat.

The Treasury Department, which oversees CFIUS, rejects criticism of its limitations. “CFIUS is committed to taking all necessary actions within its authority to safeguard U.S. national security,” said a Treasury spokesperson granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the record. Beijing says the flurry of new laws hurt the U.S. “To overstretch the concept of national security and politicize economic, trade and investment issues… undercuts international confidence in the U.S. market environment,” said Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu.to discuss legislation that bars land purchases by entities from a short list of “designated countries,” including China.

 

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