Land is valuable, especially American farmland. Foreign companies, people, and organizations love to snatch up American farmland whenever they can get their hands on it.
Foreign companies and nationals aren’t prohibited from buying land in the United States, and there is no limit to how much they can buy and hold, or what they can do with it outside of local zoning laws.
But how much land does China actually own?
#1 Tracking Agricultural Land Purchases
Texas farmland.
The Department of Agriculture requires that foreign parties file a report within 90 days of purchasing land, but because of budget cuts, the department didn’t penalize any entities for not filing from 2015 to 2018, including China.
#2 China’s Land
China.
Chinese nationals own around 383,935 acres of land in the United States. This is split between Chinese investors outside of the United States and U.S. corporations that have Chinese shareholders. Of the land owned by China, around 195,000 acres were purchased by Chinese investors (worth around $2 billion at the time of purchase), and the rest is owned by 62 U.S.-based companies.
#3 China’s Land Increase
China.
Chinese land ownership and growth remained fairly stable until 2019. From that year until 2020, Chinese land ownership increased by 30%, with U.S. companies that have Chinese stakeholders increasing their land ownership by almost 100%.
#4 Largest Chinese Owner
American land.
The largest single Chinese landowner is Chen Tianqiao, founder of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, and worth around $4 billion. He also founded the online game company, Shanda, which is the largest internet company in China. He is the 93rd richest person in China.
Tianqiao owns 198,000 acres of land in Oregon alone and much more land in Canada and other countries.
#5 Land Comparison
Arkansas.
While it sounds like a lot, all this land comprises only around 1% of all land owned by foreign interests. When accounting for only agricultural land, China owns around 1.8% of all available agricultural land in the U.S. and owns around 3.1% of all agricultural land held by private entities.
#6 Land Grab
Farmland.
Between 2010 and 2021, foreign investors increased their American land share by 15.8 million acres. From 2022 to 2023 that rate increased, with purchasers spending more than $53.3 billion on U.S. land. Only 13% of all the purchasers were from China.
#7 Lax Land Laws
Florida.
Where are foreign interests buying the most land? Usually in states that have deregulated their real estate and land markets or have prime farming land. The top five states where foreign investors were buying land from 2022 to 2023 were Florida (comprising 23% of all land purchased during the year), California (at 12%), Texas (at 12%), North Carolina (at 4%), and Arizona (at 4%)
#8 Who Owns the Most?
Canada.
Canadian nationals own the most land in the United States, with 31% of all land owned by foreign entities being bought by Canadians. Canada owns around 12.8 million acres of agricultural land alone. They are followed by the Netherlands, Italy, investors in the United Kingdom, and then Germany.
#9 Where Does China Stand?
China.
On this list of biggest foreign landowners, China comes in 18th place, owning just 1% of all foreign-owned land, and just .3% of all U.S. agricultural land in total.
#10 Why the Frenzy?
China.
In 2021, a Chinese corporation bought farmland close to the Air Force base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The only notable feature of this land was its proximity to an American military installation. Naturally, lawmakers used this as an opportunity to sabre-rattle and fearmonger about Chinese spies and influence in our country.
#11 The Biggest Chinese Investor
China.
Two entities are responsible for most of the agricultural land being bought in the United States: Smithfield Foods, and Chinese billionaire Sun Guangxin. Together they own around 80% of all Chinese-owned assets. Sun bought land in Texas to build a wind farm, but Texas law prohibited it. By himself, Sun owns around 40% of all Chinese-owned land in the United States.
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