Kansas Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning Chinese Land Purchases Near Military Sites After DCNF Investigation

by Jake Smith

The Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday preventing foreign adversaries from buying up land near sensitive military sites following a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation.

In an 84-39 vote, the Kansas House passed SB172, which prevents firms and entities linked to China and other countries identified as foreign adversaries from purchasing agricultural land within 150 miles of a military installation. The bill’s passage follows on the heels of a DCNF investigation that discovered the parent company of a firm that planned to buy land in Kansas is extensively tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The DCNF’s investigation was based on research conducted by The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project and Heritage Action.

“The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest national security threat facing Kansas. President Xi will stop at nothing to infiltrate our supply chains and gain access to our military bases,” Republican Kansas Rep. Jake LaTurner told the DCNF on Wednesday. LaTruner previously urged the Kansas Legislature to take such action, citing DCNF reporting. “I applaud the Kansas House for taking bold action this morning to help ensure our state’s most critical infrastructure is protected from CCP infiltration.”

Kicked off yesterday at the State Capitol talking with Kansas legislators about their priorities for this session.
 
We discussed the importance of ensuring CCP-backed companies aren’t gaining access to Kansas supply chains and crucial military bases across our state. pic.twitter.com/l9RgBbLTsM

— Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) March 27, 2024

If it becomes law, the bill would prevent Cnano USA, a subsidiary of Chinese-based firm Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co., Ltd. (Cnano Jiangsu), from carrying out its plan to build a 333,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Johnson County, Kansas, that would be located 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth and 70 miles from the Whiteman Air Force base, the “only operational base for the B-2.”

Cnano Jiangsu employs several dozen members of the CCP and promotes party ideology, the DCNF previously reported. The company’s website says it has “undertaken a number of national 863” projects, in reference to a program “which provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire US technology and sensitive economic information,” according to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Business filings reveal that the Chinese government has awarded Cnano Jiangsu with millions of dollars for its participation in several PRC-backed initiatives, including one that works to secretly acquire foreign technologies. The filings also show that Cnano Jiangsu has established a CCP Party Branch and supports corporate integration with the CCP.

Cnano Jiangsu’s CCP Party branch has held classes that “study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches,” according to the company’s 2022 social responsibility report. “Pay close attention to politics and join the Party,” the 2022 report reads.

“We can’t stand by and let the Chinese Communist Party steal from, bully, and spy on Kansans right in our own backyard,” LaTurner said in a statement on Wednesday. “I applaud the Kansas House for passing this strong, commonsense legislation to prevent our greatest adversary from expanding its foothold in Kansas.”

Cnano Jiangsu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Jake Smith is a contributor at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Congressman Jake LaTurner” by Congressman Jake LaTurner; Photo “Farm Land” by shawnkonopaski.