The selling of farmland to Chinese citizens and other foreign enemies is now illegal, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ announcement this week. The sale of further properties in close proximity to American military sites will also be restricted, according to Defense Secretary Hegseth, who contributed this information at the same joint news conference.
For someone who served as a captain in the Army’s intelligence unit, the announcement this week was more than simply good news; it was a pleasant relief. The last four years of Obamacare were marked by indecision, but now we have a president who isn’t hesitant to address the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on American territory.
The number of acres owned by Chinese nationals in the United States has increased to 265,000 in the past several years. Worse still, 19 important military locations, including Fort Hood and Fort Bragg, are located in the vicinity of properties bought by Chinese firms. In addition, they have taken over industries that are critical to the distribution of food to us. Actually, our farmers depend on crop protection products, which are currently controlled by China, to produce their crops. Giving over control of vital American sectors to firms supported by China exposes our nation to serious security risks, and you don’t need an intelligence professional to see this.
To their credit, a number of states have passed legislation prohibiting the acquisition of land in certain areas by foreign entities, particularly in close proximity to foreign military installations. These states include Georgia, Florida, and Texas. The Trump administration has now gone national in its battle. A nationwide crackdown on acquisitions is underway as officials take the bold measures required to safeguard our nation’s food supply and military infrastructure.
Worryingly, these issues are not abstract; they are manifesting themselves in concrete ways.
Consider the head honcho of TP-Link, a Chinese state-run networking firm that is the subject of heavy investigation by the US government. The Chinese citizen Jianjun Zhao bought a couple of sizable plots of farmland in the Monterey County and Silicon Valley areas of California. Earlier this year, a congressional hearing was held regarding this company’s Wi-Fi routers. During the hearing, a lawmaker cautioned Americans against using these routers and revealed that hackers backed by the Chinese government use devices such as TP-Link’s to prepare for possible cyberattacks on vital American infrastructure, including power grids, water systems, telecommunications networks, and more.
Allegedly accomplished by predatory pricing, TP-Link now controls an astounding 65% of the U.S. home and small-business router market. Now it seems like we’re seeing a disturbing trend with Zhao’s land purchases: strategic acquisitions in economically and strategically sensitive locations by Chinese nationals associated with businesses that are under heavy national security scrutiny. It is precisely this kind of danger that the new regulations enacted by the Trump administration aim to tackle—before the clock runs out.
This is not an error. Taking action against foreign ownership in the agriculture business isn’t the only thing President Trump is doing. Additionally, he is confronting TP-Link directly with their threats. The Trump administration is reportedly considering outright banning TP-Link sales in the US as early as this calendar year, in addition to launching a criminal antitrust investigation against the company for allegedly using predatory pricing to dominate the US Wi-Fi market. This would be a significant step toward strengthening our national security posture, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Fortunately, Trump foresaw these kinds of dangers and prepared the United States accordingly. His first term saw the creation of the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) Authorities, a formidable tool for the rapid removal of potential national security risks from American communications and internet networks (like the ones supposedly posed by TP-Link). That risky decision is starting to pay off now.
There will always be some who fail to see the gravity of the situation and refuse to take any kind of action against the dangers posed by China. Some people have come up with the strange idea that preventing foreign companies from owning stakes in important sectors “weaponizes racism.” No U.S. opponent, Chinese or another, has the right to dominate vital businesses that endanger U.S. security or hold enormous tracts of land. The American people have had enough of being complacent any longer; yesterday’s news conference made that point crystal apparent to our foreign foes.
There is no denying that the CCP danger is still strong. Their land acquisitions are strategic, their hackers are brilliant, and their spies are dogged. For this reason, we must not relent in our efforts to prevent foreign ownership of critical assets, increase spending on cybersecurity, and maintain our counterintelligence budget. A long-running effort by the national security community to resist this CCP danger is being revitalized by President Trump’s leadership and decisiveness. In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, we need to be vigilant, back policies that put our safety first, and refuse to relax our guard. Now that a new president has taken office, we are finally taking action against the Chinese menace.