Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Congressional Western Caucus hosted a forum titled, “The Dangers of the CCP Buying American Farmland.” The forum was led by Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) and included Vice Chair Adrian Smith (NE-03), and Representatives Dusty Johnson (SD-AL) and Ronny Jackson (TX-13).

“I enjoyed leading a forum with my Congressional Western Caucus colleagues about the dangers that the Chinese Communist Party poses to the United States, our agriculture industry, and our food security at large. Representing the second largest agriculture-producing district in the country, defending our farmland from foreign land grabs is a major priority for me,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04). “This Congress, I’m proud that my Defend America’s Rural Energy Act — which bans China from buying American farmland suitable for ethanol and biodiesel production — passed the U.S. House of Representatives with wide, bipartisan support. This is the type of legislation that we must advance to stop China from infiltrating our rural communities and buying up our farmland. That said, I know that my Western Caucus colleagues and I will continue to work to ensure that American farmland remains in the hands of American farmers.” 

“It goes without saying certainly that we should be vigilant, whether it’s purchase of land, purchase of agribusinesses, other assets close to our infrastructure — very critical infrastructure — I am anxious to work together with my colleagues and our communities across the country to be wise as we move forward,” said Vice Chair Adrian Smith (NE-03).

“Food security is national security, and I think we should be immediately distrustful of any attempt by the CCP to gain coercive economic power over American food,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (SD-AL). “While the Chinese people are not our enemies, while foreign investment is not an enemy, we do want to be far more thoughtful about making sure that any investment serves American interests.”

“The Chinese Communist Party has made substantial investments in America’s agricultural land. We must get serious about the national security implications associated with allowing our greatest adversaries to infiltrate our food supply,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson (TX-13). “It is time Congress works to bring greater transparency and scrutiny to foreign investments into our agricultural land and ensure we approach agriculture as a national security issue. We cannot be the greatest country on earth if we continue to allow our adversaries to control our food supply.”

These Members heard from policy experts who highlighted threats posed to the U.S. by the CCP and its ownership of American farmland and the impact this has on rural America and national security.

• Mr. Steve Yates, Senior Fellow and Chair of the China Policy Initiative, America First Policy Institute

• Ms. Gabriela Rodriguez, Policy Advisor, American Compass

• Mr. Lars Schönander, Policy Technologist, Foundation for American Innovation

“We as a nation and many of our friends made a bet long ago that if we engaged China, just showered them, literally with trillions of dollars of investment and concessional lending, privileged access to our systems where they didn’t have to abide by the same rules of transparency and accountability as even our own citizens did, that if we did these things, that our differences would narrow and areas of cooperation would expand, the world would be a better and safer place and I would just assert, just as a matter of empirical analysis, that over the last 4 years, we have seen with a combination of COVID, fentanyl, and a host of other kinds of contagions, the world is not a safer, healthier place,” said Mr. Steve Yates.

“U.S. law needs to improve its ability to determine what counts as a PRC-based entity or if it’s a CCP-linked firm, it’s critical that Congress continue embracing it’s legislative authority and set clear standards on foreign investment in the U.S, exercising oversight capacity to ensure that those standards are fully followed to the letter is also critical to protecting American economic sovereignty,” said Ms. Gabriela Rodriguez.

“My research has found that people and companies connected to the CCP have been buying farmland and building infrastructure next to American military bases, Chinese investment in American farmland has skyrocketed from $81 million in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2021, a 1900% increase, Chinese investors own a total of 384,000 acres of farmland in the United States,” said Mr. Lars Schönander.

Click here to watch the forum.