Pompeo Warns: Communist Chinese Entities Buying Farmland Near U.S. Military Bases

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who staunchly opposed Communist China during his tenure during the Trump administration, warned this week of entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) procuring American farmland with much of it located near U.S. military bases.

In May, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act, which would bar foreign nationals associated with the CCP from buying public or private agricultural land in the United States.

“China’s American agricultural land holdings have increased over tenfold in the last decade, and at the beginning of 2020, investments from China held $2 billion of American agricultural land,” Newhouse stated.

Pompeo tweeted this week, “CCP-controlled entities are now buying up American farmland, much of which is near U.S. military bases. Yet, our diplomats in China can’t even go to the grocery story without someone following them. We have to take this seriously.”

CCP-controlled entities are now buying up American farmland, much of which is near U.S. military bases. Yet, our diplomats in China can’t even go to the grocery story without someone following them.

We have to take this seriously.

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) August 1, 2022

“Let me be clear,” he added. “China, under the rule of the CCP, is the greatest threat to the U.S. in our history. It touches every facet of American life: military, education, the private sector, our government, and more. It will take real, unified effort in each for America to stay on top.”

Let me be clear – China, under the rule of the CCP, is the greatest threat to the U.S. in our history. It touches every facet of American life: military, education, the private sector, our government, and more. It will take real, unified effort in each for America to stay on top.

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) August 2, 2022

Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota and Oklahoma have barred foreign ownership of farmland, but Newhouse pointed out Chinese investors can get around those restrictions if they purchase U.S. corporations that own agricultural land.

In Spring 2022, the Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group bought 300 acres of land near Grand Forks, North Dakota, roughly 20 minutes from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, where some of the United States’ most sensitive military drone technology is based. Additionally, a new space networking center is located at the base. One North Dakota senator said the base handles “the backbone of all U.S. military communications across the globe,” CNBC reported.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission noted “the location of the land close to the base is particularly convenient for monitoring air traffic flows in and out of the base, among other security related concerns.”

Florida GOP senator Marco Rubio asserted, “It is dangerous, foolish, and shortsighted to allow the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies to purchase land near U.S. military installations. This is something we must address.”

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