It's been three years since a Chinese company's plan to develop a swath of farmland near a North Dakota Air Force base prompted local security concerns and led to a rush of legislation across the country, but calls for restrictions keep coming.
Congress also has taken action, stopping future sales of two Chinese companies’ drones in the U.S. if an evaluation finds they present “an unacceptable risk” to national security and proposing a national ban on farmland sales to businesses from China.
“I think there’s been a certain and concerted effort among lots of different people for lots of different reasons to play up China as a major threat to the United States, one that we are, of course, failing to spend enough money on or be vigilant enough about,” Jendrysik said.
“I think a lot of it just has to do with domestic, political dynamics, looking for something that can sort of galvanize people, often with very vague threats of what would happen if a Chinese company came in or if there was Chinese investment or land purchases somewhere,” she said.
Cramer gives his home state much of the credit for a surge in skepticism toward China, saying the Grand Forks City Council's decision to block the proposed wet corn milling plant after the Air Force raised concerns laid out a roadmap for other officials.
