US authorities order halt to Chinese corn mill project in North Dakota on national security concern
- Grand Forks mayor says federal government ‘requested the city’s help in stopping the project’
- US Air Force letter to North Dakota senator cites ‘near- and long-term risks’ to its operations
A controversial Chinese-owned agricultural project in America’s northern plains appears headed for cancellation after the US Air Force and local officials acted on concerns that the venture might be a threat to national security.
Brandon Bochenski, the mayor of Grand Forks city in North Dakota, on Tuesday issued a statement to the media asserting that the proposed corn mill project by Fufeng USA, a subsidiary of China’s agribusiness giant Fufeng, “should be stopped”.
“The federal government has requested the city’s help in stopping the project as geo-political tensions have greatly increased since the initial announcement of the project,” he added.
The decision comes hours after Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, both Republicans from the state, shared a letter from the US Air Force to Cramer stating that “the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area”.
Fufeng USA declined to comment on the development.