By Alex Oliveira
A Chinese company bought hundreds of acres of farmland in North Dakota, just minutes from a major US air force base, sparking national security fears as the communist country expands its nearly 200,000 acres of US farmland worth $1.9 billion.
China-based food manufacturer Fufeng Group plans to build a corn milling facility on its newly acquired 300-acre property in Grand Forks, just 20 minutes down the road from Grand Forks Air Force Base, home to some of the country’s most sensitive drone technology.
The purchase raised suspicions among military officers, national security experts and lawmakers alike.
The move could give China unprecedented access to operations at the airbase, which also has a space network center that CNBC says is “the backbone of all US military communications around the world.”
Two Fufeng Group employees visit Grand Fork, ND for a site tour prior to the company’s purchase of 300 acres of farmland
The Fufeng purchase has been criticized as American lawmakers have openly advocated restricting China’s ownership of valuable American farmland, which as of 2019 comprised at least 192,000 acres.
After the Fufeng Group bought the North Dakota land for $2.6 million this year, Air Force Major Jeremy Fox wrote a memo in April characterizing the move as symbolic of Chinese efforts to move near sensitive US -Set up defenses.
He argued that the Fufeng compound was just the right place for the company to intercept communications from the air force base.
“Some of the most sensitive elements of Grand Forks are the digital uplinks and downlinks inherent in unmanned air systems and their interaction with space-based assets,” Fox wrote.
Such interception “would pose a costly national security risk and would seriously damage the strategic advantages of the United States.”
“Passively collecting these signals would be undetectable because the requirements for doing so would simply require ordinary antennas tuned to the correct collecting frequencies,” he told National Security.’
An Air Force spokesman claimed Fox’s memo was not the military’s official position on the matter.
They instead called it Fox’s “personal assessment of potential vulnerabilities” and declined to comment.
The land that Fufeng Group bought is 20 minutes, about 16 miles, from Grand Forks Air Force Base
Some of the country’s most sensitive drone technology resides at Grand Forks Air Force Base
A representative of the Fufeng Group’s US subsidiary said fears of spying couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I can’t think of anyone that we would hire that would even do that,” Eric Chutorash, Fufeng USA’s chief operating officer, told CNBC, saying he knew the company was “absolutely” not spying on U.S. military interests would.
“We are governed by US law, I am an American citizen, I grew up here all my life and I will not engage in any spying activities or be associated with any company that does and I know my team feels the same way” , he said.
Despite Fufeng’s assurances, Fox wasn’t the only government official to raise suspicions, as the US government’s US-China Economic and Security Review Commission raised concerns in a May report.
“The country’s location near the base is particularly favorable for monitoring air traffic flows in and out of the base, among other security concerns,” the commission’s report said.
U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have also raised concerns, with North Dakota Republican Senator Kevin Cramer and Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner both opposing the proximity of the Chinese interest to the airbase.
“I think we grossly underestimate how effective they are at gathering information, gathering data, and using them nefariously,” Senator Kramer said. ‘
Senator Warner described the move as part of ongoing concerns about Chinese security threats on US soil.
“The Senate Intelligence Committee has sounded the alarm about the counterintelligence threat [People’s Republic of China]’ Warner said, ‘we should be seriously concerned about Chinese investment in sites near sensitive sites, such as B. US military bases.”
A 2019 US Department of Agriculture report showed that China owned at least 192,000 acres of US farmland valued at over $1.9 billion.
Although nations like Canada own far more agricultural land in the US, a 2018 USDA report showed that China’s agricultural holdings in the US and elsewhere had increased tenfold since 2009.
Lawmakers from liberal flagwoman Elizabeth Warren to conservative loyalists like former Vice President Mike Pence have spoken about the need to curb China’s ability to entrench itself in the US food supply.
“America cannot allow China to control our food supply,” Pence urged President Biden and Congress in 2021 to “end all farm subsidies to land owned by foreign nationals.”
Florida Senator Marco Rubio called North Dakota’s purchase of Fefung more than an intrusion into the food supply and told CNBC it was an example of a security threat that needed to be addressed.
“It is dangerous, foolish and short-sighted to allow the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies to buy land near US military installations,” he said.
“We want to do what is best for the community, we want to do what is best for the country, it’s a difficult balance at the moment.”
Republican North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer (above) opposed the proximity of Chinese interest to the airbase
On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered a potential presidential nominee for 2024, told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham he doesn’t believe Chinese companies should be allowed to buy U.S. land at the price they have .
Eric Chutorash, Fufeng USA’s chief operating officer, said he knew the company was “absolutely” not spying on US military interests
“I don’t think they should be able to do that. I think the problem is that these companies have ties to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]and it’s not always obvious whatever a company is doing – but I think it’s a big problem.’
The governor’s solution was to ban what he calls “undue influence by rogue states” like China’s ruling party.
The state has already banned so-called “Confucius Institutes,” public educational and cultural promotion programs aimed at educating people about China, giving the CCP undue influence over higher education systems.
DeSantis added that more legislative action is likely to come:
“We will probably also legislate on our pension investments in the next legislature, with things that could be related to the CCP. We don’t necessarily get much out of it, but we want to make sure we cut ties so we don’t fund our biggest opponent.
On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered a potential presidential nominee for 2024, told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham he doesn’t believe Chinese companies should be allowed to buy U.S. land at the price they have
Grand Forks Air Force Base has a space network center billed as “the backbone of all US military communications around the world.”
Regardless of the potential geopolitical ramifications of the Fufeng land purchase, Mayor Brandon Bochenski said he wants to bring more trade to the small town of Grand Fork.
“I mean, we’re a community of about 60,000 people,” he told CNBC, “you know, we don’t have the budget to have an intelligence gathering apparatus here. We do our best and rely on our partners.”
He said he is helping Fufeng build its plant, which is scheduled to start next spring, will cost $700 million and bring about 200 jobs to the city.
“We want to do what is best for the community, we want to do what is best for the country, it’s a difficult balance at the moment.”
