Gov. Sanders Announces Arkansas Is Taking the Initiative Against China After Booting Beijing from Natural State

As President Donald Trump’s administration tightens the bolts on China, a former official in the first Trump administration is making a major move on Beijing’s influence in the United States, as well.

GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, who was Trump’s White House press secretary before her current gig, is making waves for announcing what she calls the “Communist China Defense legislative package,” according to KTHV.

The legislative initiative would ban “foreign adversaries” from purchasing land “around critical infrastructure like military bases and electric substations,” a media release said.

“President Trump is the first president in my lifetime to take a hard line against Communist China, and we are proud to support that work in Arkansas by getting Communist China off our land and out of our state,” Gov. Sanders said in the media release.

“Once I sign this legislation into law, Chinese Communist Party-linked companies’ will be banned from owning property near critical infrastructure, and lobbying on behalf of Communist China, Russia, and other foreign adversaries will no longer be allowed in the state of Arkansas. My administration is putting America and Arkansas first.”

Other co-sponsors in both of Arkansas’ legislative houses echoed Sanders’ sentiments.

“China is America’s greatest adversary, and I’m proud Arkansas is leading the way in pushing back against our enemies and putting America First. This legislation protects our farmers, our businesses, and our national security,” GOP state Sen. Blake Johnson said.

“Over the past two terms, the State of Arkansas has curbed the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) within our borders, signaling a unified and bold stance against foreign interference: from banning Chinese military drones, to prohibiting land ownership, and now instituting severe penalties and outlawing foreign influence peddling,” state Republican Rep. Brit McKenzie said.

“These restrictions aim to protect Arkansas’s economic and security interests by limiting CCP-backed entities, full stop. I’d like to thank Governor Sarah Sanders for her partnership with the Legislature as these initiatives reflect Arkansas’s commitment to safeguarding our sovereignty and ensuring the well-being of our citizens,” he added.

Nor is the legislation only aimed at curtailing land ownership, although the other measures may be more symbolic.

For example, Arkansas municipalities “will no longer be allowed to have from a sister city in Communist China,” and agencies within Arkansas will now be prohibited from using taxpayer money “to purchase promotional items made in China.”

However, some of the package’s other provisions have a bit more meat to them: “The State will withhold funding from colleges and universities that have a Confucius Institute or similar institute related to the People’s Republic of China, including Chinese cultural centers, and prohibit state-sponsored colleges and universities and entities from investing in Communist China,” the media release announced.

So-called “Confucius Institutes” have often been loci of CCP-led propaganda activities on college campuses under the guise of being mere cultural institutions, with additional allegations of espionage and surveillance of Chinese students leveled at the groups.

The move comes as Arkansas Acts 636 and 174, which banned foreign ownership of land and digital asset mining in the state, face challenges in the courts.

According to the Trade Compliance Resource Hub, the latest challenge came in December, when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas imposed a preliminary injunction on the state enforcing the laws, passed in 2023.

It’s unknown what the next legal steps may be — and whether the new legislative package announced by Sanders is an attempt at expanding protections or passing a more court-friendly version of the legislation.

However, one thing’s for certain: The administrations in both Little Rock and in Washington aren’t playing games regarding Chinese land ownership. Neither are states, with over half having some kind of restrictions on what foreign entities can own land there. That should be 100 percent — and if the federal government steps in, this is one area where we wouldn’t mind seeing Pennsylvania Ave. acting to protect those on Main Street from the Chinese Communist Party.

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