OPINION:
The Chinese strategist Sun Tzu famously wrote, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Some 2,500 years later, we can see Sun Tzu’s strategies at work in China’s increasingly hostile approach to the United States and our allies, including the alarming rate at which Chinese entities are acquiring U.S. land, especially farmland. Though elected officials are finally waking up to this threat, we must take care to make sure the Chinese Communist Party cannot exploit loopholes in the law to gain control of key assets.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland jumped from $81 million in 2010 to nearly $1.9 billion in 2021. Unsurprisingly, much of this land is near critical military and intelligence sites. For example, in recent years, the Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group bought 300 acres only a few miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota — “home to some of the nation’s most sensitive military drone technology.”
As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, U.S. officials have documented as many as 100 incidents of Chinese nationals accessing military bases, including through scuba diving. If they are willing to take these measures to get near our most sensitive sites, then it’s clear why Chinese officials would value owning land with that kind of proximity.
Putting aside the immediate espionage challenges, China has a long track record of targeting vital industries for retaliation at vulnerable moments and using economic leverage to punish its political opponents, recently using these tactics in Norway, Lithuania, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Australia.
Just look at how Russia has blocked Ukrainian grain exports to inflict economic pain around the globe to see how this could play out in a conflict — except China will have direct control over the national assets that millions of Americans rely on for food security.
Fortunately, state leaders are finally beginning to take action to counter China’s strategy. According to an analysis of Asian Pacific American Justice, “lawmakers in 33 states have introduced 81 bills this year that would prohibit the Chinese government, some China-based businesses and many Chinese citizens from buying agricultural land or property near military bases.”
As their dealings attract more scrutiny, however, Chinese investors will likely exploit legal loopholes to get around new guardrails. Take recent events unfolding in Texas. As legislation to restrict the sale of Texas farmland to Chinese citizens and entities associated with China has gained steam and major deals with Chinese investors have attracted greater scrutiny, new major land purchases pose the same issues while offering less transparency about the true source of the deal.
A recent op-ed from Republican Texas state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst — who has taken the lead on this issue in her state — highlighted glaring red flags around the purchase of Fairfield Lake State Park, which is between Dallas, Austin and Houston.
As Breitbart recently reported, the public buyer Todd Interests received $92 million from CMB Infrastructure Investment Group, a regional center where foreigners can make investments in return for green cards under the EB-5 visa.
While the U.S. needs an efficient pipeline for overseas talent, the visa program is rife with abuse, especially from China. In recent years, three-quarters of the roughly 10,000 investor visas issued went to Chinese citizens.
Texas leaders are right to confront this issue head-on, but these inevitable loopholes can’t be closed without meaningful national action. We need federal reforms to bring more transparency to the EB-5 visa program and more scrutiny of Chinese purchases. Though foreign investment in the U.S. is generally regulated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, this interagency committee does not currently have the authority to review these types of real estate transactions.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has no formal role on the committee, even though it should clearly have a key seat at the table given the focus on America’s agricultural land.
Every day, China is testing and exploiting our vulnerabilities. If the Chinese can infiltrate and take over a state park in the Lone Star State, they can succeed in taking over any part of our country. Our national security depends on whether we have the capacity to adapt and respond as they do.
Let’s heed the warnings of Sun Tzu and take sensible steps to keep our nation strong, secure and prosperous.
• Alexander Gray served as deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the National Security Council at the White House, as well as special assistant to the president for the Defense Industrial Base at the White House National Economic Council.
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