U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) is raising concern over the trend of Chinese agriculture firms increasing ownership of U.S. farmland. Bilirakis believes that Congress must protect national security and minimize foreign adversaries’ investment in critical infrastructure.
“Chinese agriculture firms have stepped up their ownership of United States farmland with a 20-fold increase in the past decade," Bilirakis said in a release. "This is an alarming trend that puts Americans' food supply in jeopardy. Congress must take action to protect our national security and to minimize investment in critical infrastructure by foreign adversaries."
Others agree that land ownership by countries such as the People’s Republic of China should be avoided.
Steve Yates, chair of China Policy Initiative with the America First Policy Institute, and Adam Savit, director of the China Policy Initiative, said in an opinion piece in The Washington Times, “We must ban CCP (Chinese Communist Party) ownership of American agricultural land.”
The America First Policy Institute takes the position that China is adversarial and wants to overtake the U.S., an institute fact sheet said.
“Securing and dominating world food supply chains is an integral part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” Yates and Savit said in The Washington Times. “The CCP owns enough U.S. farm acreage to house nearly 800 average-sized American family-run farms. Americans have a right to determine which foreign countries may buy U.S. farmland, and countries spreading malign influence at all levels of our society to undermine us should not be allowed to acquire it.”
Savit wrote in the Oct. 13 article “Chinese Communist Party Ownership of Agricultural Land is a Threat to America” that banning the CCP from purchasing American agricultural land is a national security issue, not a partisan issue.
American farmland is a strategic asset that enables the U.S. to maintain food security and independence, but China's Belt and Road Initiative includes the goal of controlling global food supply chains, Savit wrote. Citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Savit said the amount of U.S. farmland owned by Chinese entities rose from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020.
“The average U.S. farm is 445 acres, so nearly 800 American families could potentially farm this acreage,” Savit said in the article.
Fourteen states have laws prohibiting the CCP from owning farmland: “Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin,” Savit wrote. Three states have introduced bills on the issue. California’s Food and Farm Security Act, passed by the legislature in August, would ban foreign governments “from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding agricultural land.”
“In September 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed legislation for the 2023 session prohibiting China and other ‘foreign countries of concern’ from purchasing agricultural land,” Savit wrote.
America First Policy Institute released a sample bill "Liberty for Our Agricultural Land Act" that 2023 state legislative sessions may use as an example of how states can enact bans on CCP purchases of U.S. farmland. The act draws from South Carolina H 4845 and Arizona SB 1342.
The model legislation states: “Neither the CCP, its members, nor any company or development owned or controlled by a company that is owned, in whole or in part, by, or is a subsidiary of the People’s Republic of China or the CCP or whose principal place of business is located within the People’s Republic of China may own, in whole or in part, or lease, possess, or exercise any control over any agricultural land in this state. Furthermore, a deed for any such real estate conveyance in which the CCP or its members are the recipients is deemed invalid.”
Chinese entities have been purchasing American farmland to resolve its food security problem, according to the “U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Staff Research Report." Although almost 20% of the global population lives in China, the country has 7-9% of global arable land. 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.
Fufeng Group, which is tied to the Chinese government, recently purchased 370 acres of land in North Dakota, 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The Chinese company WH Group, backed by the Chinese government, purchased Smithfield Foods, the top U.S. pork producer, in 2013. Smithfield has helped China protect itself against volatility in its food supply, sending record amounts of pork to China in 2020.
Since General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping took power, he has focused on bolstering China's food security and reducing food waste, according to the report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Xi also has worked to expand domestic farmland and attain new agricultural technologies, including genetically modified seeds. However, the domestic efforts have not been enough, so China has been looking internationally for solutions to its problems. Since the U.S. is a global leader in fields such as farmland, animal husbandry and intellectual property related to genetically modified seeds, Xi has targeted the U.S. Because China is targeting the U.S. sometimes through illicit means, it’s presenting risks to American economic and food security.
The China Academy of Social Sciences’ 2020 Rural Development Institute report said that by the end of 2025, China would have a grain shortfall of approximately 25 million metric tons, according to the report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
China's food security issues stem from a combination of shifting demographics, decreasing arable land and natural disaster, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
Bilirakis, who represents Florida's 12th Congressional district, was first elected to Congress on Nov. 7, 2006, his website said.
