Missouri is banning individuals and groups tied to China from purchasing agricultural land near military installations.
Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order on Tuesday prohibiting any entity tied to the CCP from buying up land within 10 miles of any “critical military facilities,” according to a statement from Parson’s office.
There are several firms with Chinese-based parent companies that own or plan to buy land around U.S. military installations, prompting concern from some lawmakers that Beijing is conducting espionage on American soil.
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“With heightened concerns regarding ownership of Missouri farmland by foreign adversaries, especially China, we are signing this order to safeguard our military and intelligence assets, prevent security threats to our state, and give Missourians greater peace of mind,” Parson said in the statement on Tuesday. “When it comes to China and other foreign adversaries, we must take commonsense precautions that protect Missourians and our security resources.”
Parson’s executive order also applies to any person or group that has been designated as “foreign adversaries” by the U.S. government. Parson noted that it is still important to do business with the U.S.’s foreign allies, pointing to economic partnerships with Israel, the U.K. and Japan, among others, that have brought billions to Missouri’s economy and created thousands of jobs.
Multiple CCP-linked organizations operate or plan to operate near military bases in the U.S. For example, Cnano Technology USA – a subsidiary of C-Nano Technology, which itself is owned by Chinese-based entity Cnano Jiangsu Technology – plans to develop a 333,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Kansas located within 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth and 70 miles from the Whiteman Air Force Base.
Cnano Jiangsu adheres to CCP ideology and supports “the deep integration of Party-building and corporate governance,” according to a company document. The company employs a number of CCP members and is involved in several projects deemed as efforts to steal American technology.
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Battery manufacturing company Gotion, which is a subsidiary of CCP-linked Gotion High-Tech, has a number of facilities across the U.S. and plans to build more. Blue state officials like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have welcomed Gotion into their states, even as many residents have expressed frustration at the prospect.
Gotion plans to build a manufacturing facility in Michigan that will be located within 100 miles of a U.S. military base that previously hosted Taiwanese military forces. The company is also slated to build a separate facility in Illinois that will be located 14 miles from the National Guard and 30 miles from an Army Reserve Camp.
“Just ask yourself the question: can Americans buy land in China near its military bases? Of course, the answer is no,” Chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP Mike Gallagher previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We cannot allow the CCP to collect valuable intelligence here at home that they might leverage in the event of a crisis.”
The Missouri Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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