WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today,Representative Mike Collins(R-Ga.)delivered a speechon the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to sound the alarm onChina buying up U.S. agricultural land.
Key Excerpts
"Xi Jinping has clearly statedthat by 2049 he wants China to be the world leader—diplomatically, economically, militarily, even in space."
"China owns $870 billion in U.S. Treasuriesthat finance our debt.And they either own or have a huge portion of the Chicago Stock Exchange, AMC movie theaters, General Electric’s appliance division, General Motors, and Smithfield Foods just to name a few."
"On another alarming note, folks. Chinaowns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019.And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota. That'sa clear threat to our national securityand that's what the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill is going to address."
Background
According to a2021 reportby the Department of Agriculture,China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
H.R. 4368, the FY2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill:
Supports our rural communities and strengthens our national security and food supply by:
- Continuing critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, and animal and plant health programs;
- Providing sufficient funds to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices;
- Ensuring that low-income Americans have access to nutrition programs;
- Reining in harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals;
- Preventing the purchase of agricultural land by foreign adversaries; and
- Providing a $39 million increase for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to fully fund frontline meat and poultry inspectors.
Reins in wasteful Washington spending and bureaucracy by:
- Redirecting billions in the partisan bills that contained Democrats’ priorities (Inflation Reduction Act) to help America’s producers and rural communities;
- Including a $32 billion decrease in mandatory SNAP spending from FY23 levels due to the end of increased pandemic-era benefits and a decrease in participation rates;
- Restricting the USDA Secretary’s discretionary spending authority on unauthorized, non-emergency programs; and
- Directing USDA to focus hiring efforts in state and county offices to assist producers and rural communities, rather than continuing to bloat the DC bureaucracy.
Cuts to Wasteful Spending:
- Returns WIC benefits provided during COVID to a normal level, with the end of the public health emergency. Benefits will be maintained above pre-pandemic levels to account for food price inflation caused by the Biden economy.
- Rejects President Biden’s proposal for 4,700 new full-time equivalents (FTE) at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., saving taxpayers $296 million.
- Saves $1 billion by restricting the discretionary use of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
- Eliminates funding for climate hubs and climate change research.
- Eliminates funding for conservation equity agreements.
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FAQs
According to a 2021 report by the Department of Agriculture, China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
What foreign country owns the most land in the United States? ›
Which countries own the most land in the U.S.? China holds only about 1% of all foreign-owned land in the United States, while Canada owns nearly a third. Canada holds 31% of all foreign owned land, with the Netherlands and Italy following with 12 and 7% respectively.
How much real estate in the US does China own? ›
Chinese firms and investors own just over 383,934 acres in the U.S., less than the state of Rhode Island, and far less than how much Canada, Netherlands, Italy, the U.K. and Germany, in that order, each own.
Who owns the most US farmland? ›
However, China doesn't own the most farmland in the U.S., according to a new USDA report. It's actually Canada, which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres. Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%.
How much land does Japan own in the United States? ›
Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land
| Country of Foreign Investor | Total Acres | Total Land Value (US$) |
|---|
| France | 1,315,748 | 2,974,709,000 |
| Japan | 636,258 | 2,959,088,000 |
| Sweden | 688,801 | 2,424,373,000 |
| China | 383,935 | 2,103,781,000 |
6 more rowsMar 16, 2023
All told, 43.4 million acres of forest and farmland in the U.S., or 3.4% of all ag land, is foreign owned as of Dec. 31, 2022. Roughly 30 million of those acres are reported as foreign-owned, with the remainder primarily under a 10-year-or-longer lease.
How much farmland does Jeff Bezos own? ›
Wealthy investors
Bill Gates hit the headlines in 2020 by becoming the country's largest owner of private farmland. At that time, he had about 269,000 acres in 18 states across America. Ted Turner, the media mogul, also owns 2 million acres of farmland, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns over 420,000 acres.
How much land does Canada own in the United States? ›
Canadian investors own the largest portion of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land with 31% (12.8 million acres) of the total and 0.97% of all U.S. agricultural land.
How much U.S. land does Saudi Arabia own? ›
China currently holds 384,000 acres of land in the U.S., which is around 1% of all foreign-held acres. The total holdings for Saudi Arabian investors is about 36,000 acres.
How much does China owe the US? ›
The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.
It's a joint venture with a "state-owned enterprise" — i.e., the CCP. The split? The CCP owns 57%, Disney just 43%. Do most Disney shareholders even know that fact?
Can US citizens own land in China? ›
Yes, China does allow foreigners to buy property. But there are a few requirements you'll need to meet as a US citizen venturing into the Chinese property market. These are the country-wide rules, but there may also be other requirements depending on which region you're looking to buy in.
Why is Bill Gates buying so much farm land? ›
Gates himself recently publicly reinforced the idea that his farmland purchases are investments. "The decision to buy this land was made by people who help manage my money so that we get a good return, so that the Foundation can buy more vaccines," Gates said on a November episode of Trevor Noah's podcast.
Who owns the biggest ranch in America? ›
ARSENAL and LA Rams owner Stan Kroenke is worth an incredible £11.5BILLION and has a property portfolio to match. The American sports tycoon and his Walmart heiress wife purchased the United States' largest ranch in 2016 and it's so big you could fit the entire cities of New York and Los Angeles inside its borders.
Who is the largest farmer in the United States? ›
Stewart Resnick is the biggest farmer in the United States and the overwhelming majority of his crops are rooted in the fertile lands of California, where the sunshine is plentiful, but the moisture is not.
How much land does Saudi Arabia own in the United States? ›
China currently holds 384,000 acres of land in the U.S., which is around 1% of all foreign-held acres. The total holdings for Saudi Arabian investors is about 36,000 acres.
How much land does China own in Michigan? ›
China held 349,442 acres in 2022, which is slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acres. Forest land accounted for over 48% of all reported foreign held acreage, cropland for over 28%, and pasture and other agricultural land for over 21%.
What country has the most farmland? ›
Agricultural land area - Ranking. China is the top country by agricultural land area in the world. As of 2021, agricultural land area in China was 5.21 million sq.
