Congressman Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Column: China’s Takeover of American Farmland

The 360,000 acres of American land owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is just the start. The CCP is purchasing more and more farmland and has a plan to drastically increase their ownership in the next few years. It’s become a growing concern of mine, and I’m working to put an end to it.

In our global economy, I understand there is a time and place to work internationally on issues. But we cannot give our foreign adversaries – like China – access to our food supply. Food security is national security.

I’m not just worried about our farmland and food supply. Recently, the Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group bought 300 acres of land near Grand Forks, North Dakota, to set up a milling plant. This piece of land is located about 20 minutes from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which is home to some of the nation’s most sensitive military drone technology. This has raised national security concerns because the Fufeng Group’s passive receiving equipment could intercept sensitive drone and space-based communications to and from the base. The communication that happens at Grand Forks AFB is the backbone of all U.S. military communications across the globe. We cannot allow one of our greatest adversaries potential control over our military technology or our food supply.

I am co-leading two bills—the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act and the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act—to prohibit China’s purchase of American farmland and agriculture businesses. Thankfully, these bills are gaining traction in Congress, at least among conservatives.

The PASS Act won’t just prohibit China from purchasing our agriculture businesses, but also blacklists Russia, Iran, North Korea, and those acting on behalf of those countries from taking control of any American ag business.

The last few years our supply chain has seen continuous disruptions – our country can’t afford to let China get a hold of more American business and land.

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