Trump Vows to Ban Chinese Investment in US Farmland if Reelected

Former President Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 08, 2022. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has promised to ban Chinese nationals from buying U.S. farmland or other critical industries if he retakes the White House.

In a nearly three-minute campaign video released on Jan. 18, Trump sounded the alarm that China’s extensive economic influence in the country risks the United States falling under the communist regime’s control.

“China does not allow American companies to take over their critical infrastructure and America should not allow China to take over our critical infrastructure,” he said in a speech recorded from Mar-a-Lago, emphasizing a need for “aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of any vital infrastructure in the United States, including energy, technology, telecommunications, farmland, natural resources, medical supplies, and other strategic national assets.”

Chinese investors were the largest foreign buyer of U.S. real estate by dollar amount between March 2021 and March 2022, with $6 billion spent over the period, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Recent years have seen growing outcry over Chinese land acquisitions to build energy infrastructure or located near U.S. military bases, with opponents saying such purchases may allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the ability to disrupt the country’s critical infrastructure and spy on defense facilities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival for Trump, last week said he’s considering a ban on Chinese entities buying property in his state for economic and security reasons because “we do not need to have CCP influence in Florida’s economy.”

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal panel in charge of screening foreign investments for security risks, in December ruled that it didn’t have jurisdiction to review a controversial Chinese corn mill project in North Dakota, located within 15 miles of the Grand Forks Air Force base, which houses sensitive drone, satellite, and surveillance technology. The project has received heavy pushback from Republican lawmakers and locals who say the plant jeopardizes economic and national security.

But the focus on land alone is far from enough to combat the threats posed by the Chinese regime, Trump said.

“The fact is we should be very concerned about all Chinese communist activity in the United States,” he said. “As I’ve long said, economic security is national security.”

Aside from barring Chinese purchases in essential U.S. industries, Trump believes the United States “should begin the process of forcing the Chinese to sell any current holdings that put our national security at risk.”

“If we don’t do this, the United States will be owned by China, which would make them very happy. When I’m president, I will ensure that America’s future remains firmly in American hands, just as I did when I was president before. It’ll happen again and our country will be stronger than ever.”

During his time in office, Trump broke with previous administrations by adopting a tough-on-China approach, focused on addressing the array of national security threats posed by the CCP. The Trump administration put strict curbs on Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns, which crippled the firm’s global business, imposed a ban on U.S. investments in Chinese military-linked firms, and sought to ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat social media apps due to data security risks.

Some aspects of Trump’s approach to China have been adopted by the Biden administration, which has emphasized reducing supply chain reliance on China.