Congressman James Comer (R-KY) recently said that he is calling on the Government Accountability Office to investigate Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland and to be transparent with Americans about efforts to address this issue.
Comer and Republican Leader of the House Committee on Agriculture Glenn “GT” Thompson have issued a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). They were joined by 128 of their colleagues in calling for an investigation into foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, according to a release. The letter called for transparency from the federal government on how this foreign ownership is affecting trade, American food and national security.
“China’s ownership of U.S. farmland is a threat to our food security and national security. An affordable, reliable food supply is critical to our nation’s well-being and prosperity, and we must ensure America maintains control of our nation’s resources,” Comer said in the release. “We are calling on the Government Accountability Office to report on the scope of this threat to our food supply to inform Congress how we can best protect the security of the American people. Americans need transparency about the federal government’s efforts to address this growing problem.”
Thompson said it's critical that Congress has a thorough understanding of foreign investment in the country's agricultural land.
“Foreign ownership and investment in U.S. agricultural land has nearly doubled in the past decade. This growing trend has elevated concerns regarding national security in a time of uncertainty that is already compounded by challenges to our supply chain infrastructure, high input costs for farmers and geopolitical pressures,” Thompson said in the release.
While Chinese investors account for only 1% of the foreign-owned agricultural land in the U.S., analysts and lawmakers are concerned that China is willing to use both legal and illegal means to increase its holdings in the U.S. in order to address the challenge of feeding its citizens, The Wall Street Journal reported. China has also sought to attain American advancements in agricultural technology through illicit means, with several Chinese citizens pleading guilty in recent years to stealing or conspiring to steal trade secrets and high-tech corn seeds.
According to a paper by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, although almost 20% of the global population lives in China, the country possesses only 7-9% of the world's arable land. Whereas China had 294 million acres of arable land in 2018 and a population of 1.4 billion as of 2020, the U.S. has over 375 million acres of arable land and a population of 329.5 million.
China's arable land has been shrinking over the last decade due to soil and water pollution, industrial growth and urbanization. As a result, the Chinese have been purchasing American farmland. Fufeng Group, which has ties to the Chinese government, recently purchased 370 acres of land in North Dakota, only 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Smithfield Foods, the top U.S. pork producer, was purchased in 2013 by the Chinese company WH Group, backed by the Chinese government. Smithfield has helped China protect itself against volatility in its food supply, sending record amounts of pork to China in 2020. China produces and consumes more than half of the world's pork supply every year.
In 2020, the China Academy of Social Sciences’ Rural Development Institute issued a report, stating that by the end of 2025, China would experience a grain shortfall of approximately 25 million metric tons (mmt), according to the paper. China's food security issues stem from a combination of shifting demographics, decreasing arable land and natural disasters.
Since Xi Jinping took power, he has focused on introducing policies that bolster China's food security and reduce food waste. President Xi has also worked to expand domestic farming and attain new agricultural technologies, including genetically modified (GM) seeds. However, the domestic efforts have not been enough, so Xi has been looking internationally for solutions to China's problems. Since the U.S. is a global leader in fields such as animal husbandry and intellectual property related to GM seeds, Xi has targeted the U.S., presenting risks to American economic and food security.
Wendy Wu, a political economy editor for the Hong-Kong based English-language newspaper South China Morning Post, said on an episode of the podcast ChinaPower that China's food security challenge poses a particular threat to President Xi Jinping as China approaches its 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Xi is expected to begin a third term.
