Nationwide Purchases
Arizona
Chinese investors are noted to own agricultural land.
Location: Scattered across the state, primarily agricultural land (cropland, pasture, or forest).
Purchase Dates: Not specified in USDA data
Seller Information: Not available in public records.
Arizona is mentioned as a state with Chinese land holdings, but specific transactions are not well-documented due to lax reporting. Concerns have been raised about foreign entities (including Chinese) buying land to exploit loose water regulations.
Missouri
Smithfield Foods (owned by WH Group, a Chinese company).
Location: Statewide, with approximately 42,000 acres of farmland as of 2015.
Purchase Dates: Primarily associated with WH Group’s acquisition of Smithfield Foods in 2013.
Seller Information: Not specified; the land was tied to Smithfield’s existing operations at the time of acquisition.
Missouri repealed its ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land just before the Smithfield acquisition, allowing WH Group to control significant farmland. Smithfield’s land is used for pork production.
North Dakota
Fufeng Group (Chinese food producer).
Location: Grand Forks, 370 acres near Grand Forks Air Force Base (12 miles away).
Purchase Dates: Spring 2022.
Seller Information: Not publicly disclosed in available sources.
The purchase for a corn milling facility raised national security concerns due to proximity to a military base storing drones. The deal was later scrapped after federal scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Texas
Brazos Highland Properties LP and Harvest Texas LLC (owned by Sun Guangxin, a Chinese billionaire).
Smithfield Foods (owned by WH Group).
Location:
Brazos Highland Properties and Harvest Texas: Over 100,000 acres in Val Verde County, near Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio.
Smithfield Foods: Scattered agricultural land, specific locations not detailed.
Purchase Dates:
Brazos Highland Properties and Harvest Texas: 2016 and 2017.
Smithfield Foods: Tied to 2013 acquisition.
Seller Information: Not publicly disclosed for either entity.
Sun Guangxin’s purchases were intended for a wind farm but were halted by a Texas law preventing foreign entities from accessing the state’s power grid, prompted by concerns over Sun’s alleged ties to the Chinese military. The USDA fined Brazos Highland Properties $120,216 in 2021 for failing to disclose 130,000 acres purchased over 20 years earlier, with an original proposed fine of $21 million.
Smithfield’s land is part of its pork production operations. Texas passed a 2023 law banning land purchases by entities from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
California
Flannery Associates (initially suspected to be Chinese-linked but confirmed in August 2023 to be primarily American investors).
Location: Near Travis Air Force Base, north of San Francisco, Solano County (over 55,000 acres of farmland).
Purchase Dates: Starting in 2018, purchases continued through 2023.
Seller Information: Not specified; multiple local landowners sold to Flannery Associates.
The purchases raised national security concerns due to proximity to a military base, but Flannery was ultimately cleared of Chinese control. This case highlights the difficulty in identifying beneficial ownership.
North Carolina
Smithfield Foods (owned by WH Group).
Location: Statewide, significant holdings for pork production.
Purchase Dates: Tied to the 2013 acquisition of Smithfield Foods.
Seller Information: land was part of Smithfield’s portfolio.
Smithfield owns a substantial portion of Chinese-held land in the U.S., with North Carolina being a key state for its operations. Exact acreage not specified but part of the 383,934 acres reported in 2021.
Oregon
Whitefish Cascade Forest Resources (owned by Chen Tianqiao, a Chinese billionaire).
Location: Not specified; agricultural or forest land in Oregon.
Purchase Dates: Not specified. Noted as an undisclosed purchase raising AFIDA enforcement concerns.
Seller Information: Not available.
Chen’s purchase highlights gaps in AFIDA enforcement, as it was not properly reported, raising concerns about transparency in foreign ownership.
Additional Case: In 2012, a Chinese company (not named in sources) purchased land near a U.S. naval base for a wind farm.
Location: Near a naval base used for weapons testing and training.
Purchase Date: 2012.
Seller Information: Not available.
The purchase led to a CFIUS divestment order by President Obama, blocking the transaction due to national security risks.
States with Chinese Residential Purchases
Entities: Primarily individual Chinese nationals or small investment firms
Locations and Purchase Dates:
Florida: 16% of Chinese residential purchases in 2023, specific locations include urban areas like Miami and Orlando.
Texas: 8% of Chinese residential purchases in 2023, likely in cities like Houston and Dallas.
Colorado: 6% of Chinese residential purchases in 2023, likely in Denver or surrounding areas.
New York: 6% of Chinese residential purchases in 2023, concentrated in New York City metropolitan area (estimated 900,000 Chinese or Chinese-descendant residents).
New Hampshire
Nongfu Spring (via subsidiary NF North America, owned by Zhong Shanshan, China’s richest man).
Unnamed Chinese investor (for Daniel Webster College).
Locations and Details
Nongfu Spring Purchase
Location: 80 Northwest Blvd., Westwood Park, Nashua, Hillsborough County. A 337,391-square-foot single-story industrial building on 23 acres, adjacent to the Pennichuck Water Works system, near Nashua Airport, BAE Systems (a major defense contractor), L3Harris (another defense contractor), and a Federal Aviation Administration control center.
Purchase Date: January 31, 2025.
Seller Information: Stag Industrial Holdings LLC, a real estate investment trust, sold the property for $67 million, four times its assessed value of $15 million.
The purchase raised concerns due to the property’s proximity to critical infrastructure (water supply, airport, defense contractors) and the inflated price. Nongfu Spring, China’s largest beverage company, plans to use the site for water bottling and beverage manufacturing, tapping into the Pennichuck water system. Local residents and officials, including State Senator Kevin Avard and Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, expressed alarm over potential water extraction impacts and national security risks. The purchase occurred six months before New Hampshire passed SB 162, banning land sales to Chinese and other adversarial entities near military installations. Nongfu Spring has not responded to media inquiries, fueling speculation about espionage or strategic positioning.
Daniel Webster College Purchase
Location: Former campus of Daniel Webster College, Nashua, near Nashua Airport, approximately 50 acres.
Purchase Date: Approximately 2018
Seller Information: Not disclosed in available sources; the property was sold for $14 million, double its assessed value.
The campus has remained largely abandoned since the purchase, raising questions about the investor’s intentions. Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess described the overpayment as “very weird” and puzzling, though he noted no immediate national security concerns. The proximity to the airport and defense contractors has drawn scrutiny, especially in light of the Nongfu Spring purchase.
