In testimony, before the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (January 2012) that looked at China’s pursuit for resources and its impact on the U.S., it was noted that China’s quest had seen millions of Chinese workers and thousands of enterprises locating in every corner of the globe.
It cited the failure of Chinese businesses to lease one million hectares of farmland to grow soybeans in Kazakhstan following local protests. An attempt to lease almost 3 million acres in the Philippines also failed after widespread opposition.
Attempts to lease or buy huge tracts of land in South America have led some states to adapt laws to prevent a “Chinese land grab.”
China’s largest farming company, Beidahuang Groups was seeking leasehold and development rights for 300,000 hectares of land in Patagonia, Argentina.
In the report, Nobel Prize winner Dr Raul Montenegro writes, “On a global level, China is the country most affected by the extension, intensity and economic impact of land degradation. So it is difficult to believe that they won’t make the same mistakes with their land in Rio Negro as they have in their own country.”
A 20 per cent cap has been placed by the Argentinian government on the total amount of land available for foreign buyers with a limit of 1,000 hectare limited per buyer.
In Brazil, the government is looking at formal measures that would stop China from buying land.
The report quotes former Trade Minister and current president of the China-Brazil Business Council who sums up Brazil’s concerns. “Sometimes you don’t know whether the investors are looking for Brazil as a market or whether they correspond to strategic purposes of the Chinese government.”
