We cannot allow China’s assault on America’s farmland to continue

The recent announcement of deepening economic ties between Russia and China is discouraging news, and is counterproductive to China’s goal of becoming an economic powerhouse. Rather, China’s path should lie in the opposite direction: strengthening bonds with actual players in the global economy, such as the U.S., European Union states, and Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea. 

Instead, China is prioritizing alignment with nations led by bellicose strongmen, as opposed to countries with robust economies and democratic governments. This means that — until China reverses course on this fool’s errand — the U.S. and our allies must challenge efforts by China to weaken our economic systems.

Addressing Beijing’s mindset was front and center at the recent Group of Seven summit in Japan, where joint statements characterized China as “the greatest challenge of our age” for global security and that President Xi Jinping’s government is “increasingly authoritarian at home and abroad.” President Biden should also be lauded for his leadership at the summit in achieving a new consensus among G7 leaders that they should be aggressive in “de-risking” economic reliance on China in supply chains and combating Beijing’s economic coercion. 

One of the clearest dangers China poses is its effort to use its agricultural policies to threaten U.S. national security and our food supplies.

By 2021, China had purchased about 384,000 acres of American farmland, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The value of Chinese-owned U.S. farmland in 2010 was $81 million; by 2020, China had acquired so much more U.S. farmland, that figure had risen to $1.8 billion.

China is gaining a level of control over the U.S. food supply that is deeply concerning. By controlling a significant portion of the country’s farmland, China could, at any time, choose to withhold or manipulate the food produced on these lands, putting American food security at risk. Dumping underpriced products into the U.S. market — ranging from steel to crawfish — undercuts and destabilizes American companies and is standard practice for China.

Indeed, China is also flooding the U.S. market with inexpensive subsidized amino acids, which are essential nutrients used in for animal feed used by American pork and poultry producers. In the long term, China threatens the viability of our domestic production base for amino acids. If we lose our domestic market, we become reliant on China for a critical component of our food chain.

Aware of this risk, in 2021 the University of Wisconsin studied this issue and found that the dumping of subsidized Chinese amino acids into the U.S. could destroy nearly 30,000 American jobs and reduce U.S. GDP by $15 billion per year.

To address this issue, the U.S. government must take immediate action. Expanded tariffs on Chinese amino acid imports would help level the playing field for American producers, prevent China from gaining a stranglehold on the market and help protect American farmers. This is a course of action recommended by three members of Congress: Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa.

Sanctions should also be imposed on Chinese companies that engage in unfair trade practices, such as amino acids dumping. On the proactive side, the U.S. should invest in research and development to find new, more efficient ways to produce amino acids domestically, reducing our dependence on foreign imports.

Finally, the U.S. should also take steps to limit foreign ownership of American farmland, particularly from countries that do not share our values or interests.

This is especially critical especially in light of the Fufeng case in North Dakota. With little notice, China’s Fufeng Group, a major Chinese amino acid producer, purchased 300 acres of farmland in Grand Forks, N.D. When the company announced plans to build a corn mill that would provide feedstock for the production of amino acids, it drew the attention of local and national officials. Why? Because the site was only 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, home to top secret U.S. drone technology. Local lawmakers sensibly quashed Fufeng’s plans.

The Chinese threat to U.S. food security and national security is unmistakable. China’s purchases of American farmland and dumping of subsidized amino acids into the U.S. market cannot continue, and I encourage the Biden administration and Congress to work together in a bipartisan fashion to safeguard our nation.

Silvestre Reyes represented Texas’ 16^th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2013, serving as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2007-2011.