Former President Donald Trump expressed his views on protecting American farmland from the threat posed by communist China during a roundtable discussion. He emphasized the need to prevent Chinese investors from buying and taking land off the market. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, companies with primary investors in China currently own 349,442 acres of U.S. farmland, with Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri having the largest shares.
The report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture states that this acreage associated with China should be seen as a minimum estimate and does not include companies where the extent of CCP influence is unclear. Trump and other government officials are concerned about potential exploitation by Chinese-owned companies in America.
Although China-based companies own less than 1 percent of foreign-held agricultural land in the United States (with Canadian companies owning the most), their ideological differences make them view America as an enemy due to its values of liberty, free speech, and multi-party governance.
National security concerns led to plans being scrapped for selling land near Grand Forks Air Force Base to a China-based firm called Fufeng Group. Senator John Hoeven voiced serious concerns over establishing a China-owned corn mill near an Air Force installation that hosts one of two units operating RQ-4 Global Hawk drones.
Trump stated that preventing Chinese entities from acquiring U.S. farmland could be easily done during an interview with NTD News. He was accompanied by former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin at a roundtable hosted by Protecting America Initiative—an organization focused on countering Communist China at state level.
Both Grenell and Zeldin have been mentioned as potential members of a future Trump administration—Grenell for Secretary of State—and were praised for their strong stance against threats posed by Communist China.
Trump’s visit to rural Pennsylvania preceded a campaign rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania later that day where he continued discussing issues related to China’s influence on American farmland.
