The Biden-Harris government's Department of Agriculture is quietly reclassifying numerous property developers and other companies in what appears to be an effort to work around restrictions on Chinese land ownership near U.S. military bases and installations.
The move comes despite continued warnings from the U.S. intelligence community and other agencies in the Biden-Harris government that China poses an increasing national security risk and is actively opposing U.S. interests through domestic and foreign counter-intelligence actions.
At the center of the Department of Agriculture controversy is the recent change in designation for Walton Global, a property developer that has been considered one of the top Chinese-controlled U.S. land owners for years.
The company has expanded its footprint in China since 2018 and was-until recently-listed by the U.S. government as one of the five top Chinese owners of U.S. agricultural land.
The decision comes even though Walton owns at least 14 properties with some degree of Chinese investment, all within 15 miles of a U.S. military base or installation.
MIXED MESSAGING. Senator Marco Rubio is blasting the Biden-Harris government's decision, stating: "Adversaries owning or investing in land near our military installations is a national security risk, and it is time the Biden-Harris Administration, American companies, and the courts recognize it as such."The reclassifications come amid a move earlier this year by the U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to exert greater oversight and authority over U.S. property purchases by foreign entities.
Numerous state governments have enacted restrictions barring foreign property ownership near U.S. national security-designated facilities.
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