(DCWatchdog.com) – Chinese nationals and entities connected to the ruling Chinese Communist Party are buying up vast tracts of farmland in the United States. This fact has led Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton to raise the alarm and sponsor a bill to ban such purchases.
You can watch a video of Cotton discussing this crucial issue further down this post.
The GOP Senator from Arkansas told Fox News that the Chinese buyouts of American land pose a “national security threat” to the U.S. and seek to rob the American people of one of their most significant strategic advantages over Beijing.
“China cannot feed its own people. The United States not only can feed our own people — we can feed much of the world. We should never surrender that massive strategic advantage,” Cotton stated.
“We should not allow Chinese nationals to buy up American farmland or to invest in American food and agricultural companies. We should protect those critical assets for our own country,” Cotton argued.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that in 2010, Chinese investors owned 13,720 acres of land in the U.S. By 2020, the amount of Chinese-owned agricultural real estate in America reached close to 30 times that amount – 352,140 acres. The ultimate number is even higher with purchases made in 2021 and 2022.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), in particular, emphasized that any foreign property purchases of strategic value by Chinese nationals and companies are likely connected with the government of the People’s Republic of China and the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
“[I]n China, you don’t just get to leave the country or take your money out of the country without government permission and government oversight. It’s not like America. You can’t just go buy a farm in Canada, you can’t get a timeshare in Mexico,” Cotton stated.
“The people that are coming out of China to buy farmland and food and agricultural companies are doing so because the Chinese communists want them to. This is a national security threat, and it surrenders the massive strategic advantage we have here in America that we are the world’s breadbasket while China can’t feed its own people without food imports,” the Republican U.S. Senator elaborated.
Cotton said he is still recruiting bipartisan support in the Senate for his bill that would ban China and any firms with Chinese connections from buying American farmland. He is optimistic about getting enough votes from both sides of the aisle to pass it.
Here is the video of U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton discussing his bill to prohibit the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing American land:
