Chinese Minister Labels U.S. State Bans on Farmland Ownership ‘Discriminatory’

“We are in this phase of stabilizing this relationship,” said Lyu Jiang, minister for economic and commercial affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. “We have asked that the two sides, China and the U.S., reposition their relationship overall so we have a bigger-picture arrangement in which China is no longer considered as a rival competitor, to an extent, or enemy of the United States.”

At the 2026 Top Producer Summit in Nashville, Lyu expressed hope that an April meeting between the countries’ leaders would lead to a longer-term resolution.

Nearly 700 miles away, at the same moment on Feb. 1, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth were sitting together in a show of solidarity as they scrawled their signatures across a freshly printed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The document is meant to link USDA and the Department of Defense to raise agriculture’s status as a pillar of national security through the National Farm Security Action Plan.

“Before President Trump came into office the consolidation of our farmland, the foreign adversarial ownership of farmland, especially from China and other places, had really been creeping up on our country,” said Rollins just ahead of the signing on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.” “We have almost 300,000 acres owned by China, a lot of our food supply comes from foreign (owned) sources, and we’re working to reverse that while at the same time protecting our farmers and protecting our farmland from our foreign adversaries.”

Through the National Farm Security Action Plan, launched in July 2025, USDA has rolled out a number of security-focused steps. The new MOU creates a framework allowing USDA and the War Department to work more closely on defending the nation’s food and agricultural systems, strengthening domestic productivity and addressing emerging security threats to American agriculture.

This latest MOU extends the plan and creates a new partnership between Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and USDA chief scientist by allowing:

1. Sharing of information regarding security vulnerabilities in agriculture.
2. Collaboration to develop novel technological solutions to American agriculture’s biggest challenges.
3. Exchange of personnel to ensure both departments are well-equipped to protect American agriculture.

By the Numers: Foreign Land Ownership in the U.S.

(USDA)

According to USDA, 43.4 million acres of forest and farmland in the U.S., or 3.4% of all ag land, is foreign owned as of Dec. 31, 2022. Roughly 30 million of those acres are reported as foreign owned, with the remainder primarily under a 10-year-or-longer lease. Of the 30 million, 66% are owner-operated, 14% have a tenant or sharecropper as the producer and 12% report a manager other than the owner or a tenant/sharecropper as producer. The remaining 7% are “N.A.”

Canada owns the most land in the U.S., which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres. Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%. Together, citizens in those countries hold 13 million acres, or 29%, of the foreign-held acres in the U.S. China owns less than 1%, or 349,442 acres.

USDA says the two biggest Chinese-owned companies with landholdings in the U.S. are Brazos Highland and Murphy Brown LLC, which owns Smithfield Foods. Brazos Highland reported owning 102,345 acres, and Smithfield owns 97,975 acres.

China’s Push for Investment Amid State Restrictions

In October 2023, Arkansas became the first state to ban foreign-owned farmland. By early 2024, approximately 24 states had enacted laws specifically restricting or prohibiting foreign individuals, entities or governments from owning or acquiring agricultural land within their borders.

Some of the key trends in recent legislation:

• Targeted Countries: Many recent laws (such as those in Florida, Arkansas and Missouri) specifically target “foreign adversaries” as defined by the federal government, which often includes China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
  
• Proximity to Military Sites: Several states, including Missouri and Georgia, have focused restrictions on land within a certain radius (often 10 to 25 miles) of military installations or critical infrastructure.
  
• Divestiture Requirements: Some states, like Arkansas, have begun enforcing these laws by requiring foreign-owned companies to sell their current holdings.

Lyu, speaking plainly from the Top Producer Summit stage, said instead, China wants to grow its economy and invest in other countries. That includes making investments in the U.S.

“I think with the growing capacity and the innovation in China, we would like to shift our capacity also overseas,” Lyu said. “That is why, not only in the ag sector, but also in tech and manufacturing, we would like to see our investment going to other countries as well, including here in the U.S.”

On the agricultural side, China already owns several large ag companies, such as Syngenta and Smithfield. Lyu says China would like to grow that footprint, as well, including buying or investing in farmland.

“China has been wanting to, for example, expand its farming business here but, unfortunately, 30 states or something like that have adopted laws to prohibit Chinese investors from acquiring land to farm,” Lyu said. “Of course, we consider that as discriminatory. We appreciate the importance of national security, etc., but we believe that national security should be delineated in a way that it does not affect a normal trade or investment.”

While China has been a critically important customer for U.S. agricultural goods, Lyu says teamwork and a “benign” relationship would reap added benefits as the country continues to grow.

“China is the biggest importer of ag products in the world, and it will continue to be so in the next two decades, if not longer,” Lyu said. “The middle-income population in China will continue to grow and it’s expected to double in the next seven or eight years.”

Key Actions Under the National Farm Security Action Plan

This administration, while hopeful of a mutually beneficial trading relationship, isn’t overlooking what it considers foreign threats to agriculture’s future.

“President Trump is putting America First and that means ensuring our government is working as one to defend the safety, security and resilience of our food supply and the land that sustains it,” Rollins said. “Over the past year, USDA has delivered real results under the National Farm Security Action Plan.”

The MOU announcement is just the latest step in several direct actions USDA has taken to help secure farmland, protect critical supply chains, defend nutrition programs from fraud and foreign influence, strengthen research security and ensure America First policies across USDA programs.

“In the face of growing threats from adversaries who seek to undermine our food supply and agricultural independence, the Department of War stands ready to defend America’s farms as vital national security assets. This Memorandum of Understanding with USDA, particularly through partnership with DARPA, will drive innovative solutions to protect our farmers and ranchers from cyberattacks, foreign intrusions and biosecurity risks. Together, under the leadership of President Trump and in collaboration with Secretary Rollins, we’re ensuring that American agriculture remains resilient, productive and a cornerstone of our nation’s strength,” Hegseth said.

Since first announcing the National Farm Security Action Plan, the agency has taken a number of actions, including:

• Publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on modernizing reporting requirements of foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).
  
• Developing an online filing system for enhanced AFIDA reports to provide an alternative to the in-person filing of paper reports.
  
• Launching an online portal for farmers, ranchers and the public to report possible false or failed reporting of foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land.
  
• Working across the federal government to designate critical fertilizer inputs as critical minerals.
  
• Terminating contractors and visiting scientists who have citizenship from countries of concern.
  
• Developing new research and development priorities that emphasize the importance of safeguarding American agriculture.
  
• Standardizing terms and conditions across all USDA grant and cooperative agreement programs.
  
• Blocking taxpayer funding for solar panels from China and prohibiting BioPreferred Certifications to entities located in countries of concern.
  
• Building on this strong foundation, today’s MOU establishes a formal framework for USDA and the War Department agencies to collaborate more closely to defend the nation’s food and agricultural systems, strengthen domestic productivity and address emerging security threats to American agriculture.