Farming is latest flashpoint between U.S. and China; Grand Forks drops support of Chinese mill after Air Force objects

Grand Forks, N.D., officials had previously backed plans for a
Chinese-owned corn mill. (WSJ photo by Lewis Ableidinger)

Adding new jobs, increasing tax revenue and providing a possible "perch for spying;" that last one is not something Grand Forks, North Dakota, will be offering: "The mayor of this city near the Minnesota border backed a Chinese company’s plans to build a $700 million corn mill on the outskirts of town," reports Kristina Peterson and Anthony DeBarros of The Wall Street Journal. "Then last week Brandon Bochenski reversed course, hours after the release of a letter from an Air Force official declaring the corn-mill project a security risk because of its proximity to the Grand Forks Air Force Base 12 miles away."

Bochenski, a former professional hockey player who previously played in Russia and was elected mayor in 2020, told Peterson and DeBarros, “When it comes to national security, I don’t think the economics matter. You’ve got to draw a hard line there.”

They write: "Bochenski said he and other officials who had supported the project would now block the development by the U.S. branch of Fufeng Group Ltd., which still owns the 370 acres of land . . . . The episode reflects intensifying concerns over whether the U.S. should be restricting the ability of foreigners, particularly from China, to buy American farmland. Lawmakers and others say they want to make sure the U.S. food-supply chain is protected. . . . Worries about China’s espionage deepened after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was identified in U.S. airspace and later shot down over the Atlantic on Saturday."

“Grand Forks and Fufeng became a flashpoint for a much broader discussion. The country collectively realized we had not been keeping our eye on the ball,” North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer told the Journal. In response, a Chinese Embassy spokesperson, said, "We oppose the malicious generalization of the concept of national security and the obstruction and sabotage of normal exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries."

The Journal adds: "China remains the biggest market for U.S. agricultural exports, buying almost $36 billion worth of agricultural goods in 2021, according to the Department of Agriculture. . . . In Congress, lawmakers have introduced bipartisan bills to tighten federal oversight of foreigners’ proposed purchases or outright block the ability of buyers from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran to buy U.S. farmland or agricultural businesses."