The Chinese Threat

Although federal regulation allows for the review of land purchases “in and/or around specific airports, maritime ports, or military installations,” it does nothing to protect critical farmland. The purchase of U.S. farmland by adversarial nations such the government of China is a major source of concern. China now owns 349,442 acres of agricultural land in the United States, up 82% from just three years prior. America’s food supply - and the farmland that enables it - is critical to its national security interest, especially considering China’s other ventures into the U.S. food supply.

Because of the increasingly contentious relationship between Washington and China, the Chinese government has pursued an under-the-radar approach by lobbying state and local politicians in order to achieve their aims. A notice by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center warned that this influence campaign could be “deceptive and coercive” and use financial incentives in order to spur action. The threat is widespread, from influencing the outcome of votes in state legislatures to using local politicians as proxies to pressure Washington. 

In 2017, the California legislature shelved a symbolic resolution criticizing the religious persecution of Falun Gong members after Chinese government officials sent a letter warning that the resolution could “deeply damage the cooperative relations between the State of California and China.” In Utah, lawmakers close to China delayed a ban on Chinese-funded propaganda programs at Utah universities.

States around the country have rapidly expanded programs to provide economic incentives to companies that invest in the state. The Chinese government is actively working to use those incentives to gain a foothold in the U.S. Some states have actually provided taxpayer subsidies for the CCP to operate in the U.S. As states consider the allocation of finite resources and the critical importance of domestic manufacturing,companies owned by the government’s of foreign adversaries should not be prioritized over American companies.

Chinese state-backed actors have been singled out by cybersecurity firms for hacking into the computer networks of multiple U.S. states so they can share the data with the Chinese government. In light of that existing and ever-present vulnerability, states should be especially vigilant about inviting more intrusions into sensitive data by continuing to use risky Chinese government technology. In one example, the Pentagon warned about the national security risk of using Chinese-made drones. Despite the threat, FOIA requests have revealed that state governments and local police departments are still using these drones. States must remain vigilant and guard against the CCP’s efforts to insert government technology into our everyday lives. 

Unfortunately, the CCP has become a key part of infrastructure projects funded by U.S. states. The world’s largest crane manufacturer - ZPMC - is a Chinese state-owned company that entered the U.S market decades ago vastly undercutting its Western competitors. ZPMC’s lower prices eventually led to its products accounting “for nearly 80% of ship-to-shore cranes in use at U.S. ports.” In recent years, however, the company has come under great scrutiny as a national security risk due to the discovery of “communications equipment that doesn’t appear to support normal operations,” including cellular modems. That a Chinese-state owned company in short order ingrained itself to such a large degree in critical U.S. infrastructure raises questions about the potential for adversarial governments to disrupt key industries.

A 2018 study by the Wilson Center cataloged the myriad tactics that the CCP uses to gain a foothold into American academia. What is clear is that China’s reach into American higher education influences what is taught, who can speak, and how academics behave. In 2019, China had established about 100 Confucius Institutes at U.S. colleges and universities to foster “cultural and educational exchanges” before the State Department and Department of Education warned of their threat to free speech. Schools have engaged in self-censorship for fear of upsetting China’s ruling government, such as when Columbia University’s Global Center canceled talks that might run afoul of the CCP or when North Carolina State University canceled a visit by the Dalai Lama after insistence from the school’s Confucius Institute director.

According to the House Homeland Security Committee, 24,214 Chinese nationals have been apprehended for illegally crossing the border in 2024 - up 8,000 percent compared to March 2021. In July, a Chinese national was arrested in New York City and indicted for importing “enough fentanyl precursor chemicals from China to kill millions of Americans.” He is charged “with selling more than 2,000 kilograms of fentanyl precursors.” Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common scenario as China has been the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and has fueled a public safety crisis in the U.S. Fatal overdoses in 2023 topped 112,000 for the first time. 

Rather than solely rely on a federal response, states also have an opportunity to make headway in securing the border, cracking down on human trafficking, and protecting American lives.