With relations between the U.S. and China near a 40-year low, Chinese ownership of American farmland has suddenly flared into controversy. Twenty-seven states are considering proposals that would ban or restrict foreign acquisitions of agricultural land.
Beijing shows little sign of an imminent spending spree: China’s annual investment in all U.S. industries plunged by more than 90 percent since peaking at $49 billion in 2016, according to the Rhodium Group, a New York-based consultancy.“I just can’t get excited over this subject,” said Dennis Wilder, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who advised President George W. Bush onpolicy.
The proposed restrictions on Chinese land purchases also reflect growing suspicion of Chinese President Xi Jinping. His domestic repression and foreign assertiveness have damaged China’s international standing while his embrace of greater state control over the economy has blurred the line between China’s private sector companies and the government.“Is there such a thing as a private company in China? I’m not sure there is,” Rep.
Smithfield’s operations today also are little changed from when it was U.S.-owned, leaving local people to balance the shadowy prospect of an unspecified threat against the tangible benefits of the company’s presence. “It’s not a science project. It’s a commercially viable business,” said Westerbeek, who manages the company’s renewables joint venture.Smithfield has several other facilities in Missouri, including a slaughterhouse in Milan, and is a familiar presence in many small towns. The company since 2020 has spent $47 million upgrading its state facilities.
In Missouri, foreign ownership of farms has long been a political flash point. State law limits total foreign ownership to 1 percent of agricultural acreage. In the state’s U.S. Senate race last year, Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine blasted Republican Eric Schmitt for voting in 2013 to relax ownership limits, a move that allowed W.H. Group to acquire Smithfield’s 130,000 Missouri acres.
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