Americans want to prevent foreign countries like China from buying U.S. land and operating critical infrastructure, according to an exclusive new poll.
Purchases of American farmland by individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party have become a recent concern in Congress, prompting a flurry of proposals.
Repeated instances of foreign entities seizing land (some estimates project they own more than 40 million acres) near critical U.S. infrastructure and military installations have deeply exacerbated those concerns.
And it’s not just lawmakers who are concerned, but ordinary Americans as well.
A new CRC Research poll conducted for the 85 Fund shared exclusively with DailyMail.com finds that nearly two in three Americans are fed up with land grabs and want China and other countries to be banned from doing so.
Gotion, a Chinese battery manufacturing company, has purchased acres of land in rural Michigan to build a new manufacturing plant near a local National Guard base, sparking unrest among locals in 2023. After a brief pause, construction on the plant is continuing.
Exactly 66 percent of respondents indicated that they believe countries that concern the U.S. should not be able to buy land in the U.S., according to the survey.
It also found that 67 percent of respondents agree with implementing legislation to prevent foreign adversaries from supplying their states with critical infrastructure components.
The poll was conducted among 2,800 likely voters in the key states of Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The results indicate that voters clearly want state-level safeguards against foreign influence, State Armor CEO Michael Lucci told DailyMail.com.
His group focuses on helping states defend themselves against foreign influence, particularly that of the Chinese Communist Party.
He shared several reasons why voters want laws that restrict the CCP’s power.
Chinese entities own farmland in 29 of the 50 states, totaling 347,000 acres.
“Americans are increasingly understanding the danger that foreign adversaries like Communist China pose to their states,” he said.
‘The Chinese Communist Party is an intractable adversary that is willing to do whatever it takes to undermine American security, especially during our presidential election.’
‘China’s efforts to attack our critical infrastructure, monopolize and control essential technologies like drones, and use American investment dollars to fuel its expanding and belligerent military are top of mind for American voters.’
Foreign entities own a total of 40 million acres of U.S. farmland, and China has purchased nearly 347,000 acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Some land purchases by China near important U.S. military installations have been of particular concern to lawmakers and administration officials.
(L-R) Kelly Cushway, 63, Lori Block, Deborah Dygert, 71, and Jeffrey Thorne, 64, spoke to DailyMail.com about their concerns regarding Chinese company Gotion’s purchase of land for a battery plant in their community.
Local residents gather to discuss their concerns about China-backed company Gotion’s purchase of land for a battery plant in their community of Big Rapids, Michigan, on August 5, 2023.
In 2022, for example, China-based food producer Fufeng Group acquired 300 acres of land in Grand Forks, just 20 minutes from Grand Forks Air Force Base, where some of the country’s most sensitive drone technology is located.
That year, Air Force Maj. Jeremy Fox wrote a memo characterizing the move as emblematic of Chinese efforts to establish a presence near sensitive U.S. defense facilities.
He argued that Fufeng’s property is located in the right place for the company to intercept communications coming from the Air Force base.
Now lawmakers are working to further restrict China and other adversaries from seizing coveted lands in the fiscal 2024 farm bill.
Concerns about the CCP’s influence over U.S. land and infrastructure prompted Rep. Ashely Hinson, R-Iowa, to propose new rules in the upcoming Farm Bill to better track China’s moves.
US President Joe Biden (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit
His reforms to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) would help the government more easily track purchases of U.S. farmland by foreign entities.
The bill is expected to be voted on in the coming weeks once Congress returns from recess.