Trump Defends Chinese Purchases of U.S. Farmland

Newsweek’s Jesus Mesa reported that “President Donald Trump defended Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland during a trip to Beijing (last) week, arguing that restricting foreign ownership would hurt American farmers by driving down land values.”

“The remarks, delivered during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, marked a sharp reversal from Trump’s previous hardline stance on Chinese ownership of American agricultural land and immediately intensified concern among farmers and national security hawks already uneasy about Beijing’s growing footprint in U.S. agriculture,” Mesa reported. “‘You want to see farm prices drop, you want to see farmers lose a lot of money? Just take that out of the market,’ Trump said when asked about Chinese nationals purchasing farmland and land near military installations.”

“The comments landed at a difficult moment for rural America. Farmers are already contending with weak commodity prices, high fertilizer costs, trade instability, and uncertainty surrounding agricultural exports to China,” Mesa reported. “For many, Trump’s defense of Chinese investment in farmland added another layer of frustration to an already fragile economic environment.”

“Trump’s Beijing comments also appear to conflict with policies his administration itself promoted over the last year,” Mesa reported. “In July 2025, the Department of Agriculture announced a ‘National Farm Security Action Plan’ designed to restrict future Chinese farmland purchases and force divestment of existing Chinese-owned agricultural land. …Earlier this year, Trump also signed a national security memorandum targeting investments by foreign adversaries, including China, in sectors tied to agriculture and food production.”

Chinese U.S. Farmland Ownership Remains Relatively Small

TIME’s Nandika Chatterjee reported that “according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, foreign entities own roughly 46 million acres of agricultural land in the United States, about 3.6% of the nation’s total farmland as of 2024. Chinese investors held nearly 248,000 acres, which is 0.02% of all U.S. farmland, and slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acres, a comparatively small share dwarfed by holdings from Canada (34%), the Netherlands (10%), Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom (6%).”

“Farmland policy is similarly more complicated than political slogans suggest. Analysts note that while land purchases near military installations may warrant scrutiny, broad prohibitions on foreign ownership can conflict with property rights and investment norms,” Chatterjee reported. “Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, told CBS News that Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland remains ‘a tiny, tiny sliver’ of total agricultural land and that fears about it are often overstated.”

Lawmakers Seek Crackdown on Chinese Farmland Ownership

CBS News’ Gabe Kaminsky and Callie Teitelbaum reported that President Trump “arrived in Beijing (last) Wednesday for a highly anticipated summit with Xi, which is expected to focus on trade, energy, Taiwan and the war with Iran. Ahead of his visit, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced new legislation that aims to close what they described as ‘dangerous loopholes’ allowing foreign adversaries like China to purchase American farmland and real estate near U.S. military bases.”

Farmers are sounding the alarm after President Trump said he will continue allowing China to buy American farmland.

“We’re a stronger nation when we continue to have our own production and our own stewardship of ground that’s owned by domestic farmers.”

“Food security is… pic.twitter.com/nRGUQFt5wS

— Farm Action (@FarmActionUS) May 18, 2026

“‘Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries like China to buy up American farmland near our most sensitive military and critical infrastructure sites,’ Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who heads the Select Committee on China and led the bill’s introduction, said in a statement,” according to Kaminsky and Teitelbaum’s reporting. “The bill has backing from members of both parties, with Democrats such as New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and California Reps. Julia Brownley, Jimmy Panetta and Mike Thompson signing on.”

Additionally, “dozens of states now have laws on the books ‘that seek to restrict to some degree foreign ownership or investments in private agricultural land within the boundaries of their state,’ according to the National Agricultural Law Center. Efforts have picked up in recent years to limit ownership, including in Utah, where its Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed a bill into law that expanded previous foreign restrictions.”