(HorizonPost.com) – China is making its presence known in the United States in ways that pose national security risks. One major issue concerning U.S. lawmakers and officials is the communist country’s purchasing of U.S. land near military bases, according to The Washington Examiner.
Although China only owns about 1 percent of American land, that investment has greatly increased. In fact, as of 2022, total foreign investment in American soil has “nearly tripled in the past decade,” according to American Pigeon. By the end of 2011, China owned 69,295 acres of land. But 10 years later, that number shot up to 383,935 acres.
When a North Dakota town reportedly put a stop to a Beijing-linked project being placed right next to Grand Forks Air Force Base, it was the result of inaction from the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS). The Grand Forks City Council unanimously voted after the Chinese spy balloon was caught hovering across the country nearly uninterrupted.
Sen. Marco Rubio recommended treating the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the greatest enemy of the country and noted that it is a threat to allow them to buy up land. One prominent example is when Chinese real estate tycoon Sun Guangxin, a former captain in the People’s Liberation Army, prepared to buy around 140,000 acres next to Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas.
The move raised alarms amid an already precarious border policy that is allowing unfettered immigration into the states. While Sun claimed that he was going to build a wind farm, national leaders refused to support the project.
House Republicans have introduced legislation that targets the issue. The “National Security Moratorium on Foreign Purchases of U.S. Land” was introduced in January 2022 but was not prioritized. Rep. Michael McCaul, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, highlighted the importance of protecting the country from espionage.
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