About “half” of the states have acted to ban China’s acquisition of U.S. land, particularly land near U.S. military bases, says Congressman John Moolenaar, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Exactly how many states may be credited is hard to count given variations in legislation and in how diligently enacted barriers to land purchases accruing to the benefit of foreign adversaries are enforced. The National Agricultural Law Center suggests that although 28 states now have “some form of restriction—most enacted since 2023,” these laws “vary in scope and enforcement procedures,” and enforcement is still limited.
National security and food security
Whatever the states are doing is not enough, Moolenaar and others feel; so they are introducing legislation to “safeguard U.S. national security and food security by closing gaps in federal oversight of foreign land acquisitions” (Select Committee on the CCP, May 7, 2026)
“This bipartisan legislation closes dangerous loopholes, presumptively bars foreign adversaries from purchasing land, and ensures the United States has the tools to stop these farmland deals before they threaten our security,” says Moolenaar. “It also [gives] the administration the authority needed to protect United States farmland and real estate near sensitive facilities.”
The People’s Republic of China is not the only “foreign adversary” covered. The bill would also give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) the power to block land or real-estate purchases by foreign persons “subject to the jurisdiction of, or organized under the laws of” Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
The legislation provides for “mandatory review of purchases involving farmland, ports, telecommunications infrastructure, and locations in proximity to military installations and intelligence facilities” and “incorporates food security and agricultural biotechnology risks into CFIUS reviews….”
The Daily Wire notes that in 2022, CFIUS declared that “a Chinese food manufacturer’s purchase of farmland in Grand Forks, North Dakota, which was situated near Grand Forks Air Force Base and Cavalier Space Force Station, wasn’t a ‘covered transaction’ in its jurisdiction.” Moolenaar’s bill would give CFIUS the necessary jurisdiction.
Also see:
Select Committee on the CCP: “Text of the Bill” (not yet named and numbered)
“To protect U.S. food security, provide the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States greater jurisdiction over land purchases, impose special guards against foreign adversary purchases of land in the United States near sensitive sites, expand the definition of sensitive sites, and for other purposes.”
Daily Wire: “Inside The Bipartisan Push To Block China From Buying American Farmland”
“In 1980, Chinese buyers owned 2,000 acres of American farmland, according to the Department of Agriculture. Now, they own 300,000 acres.”
Washington Times: “Chinese farmland purchases near U.S. military bases raise national security concerns”
“Chinese companies have been found buying land close to 19 military installations across the nation, from Florida to Hawaii….
“The proximity of these land purchases to key military sites raises the possibility of Chinese landowners establishing surveillance operations under the pretense of farming. Potential activities could include setting up reconnaissance posts, installing tracking devices, using radar and infrared technology to monitor military activities, or even deploying drones to gather intelligence.”
