Senator Jon Tester calls for ban on Chinese land purchases after billionaire Chen Tianqiao becomes one of US top foreign owners
- The Democrat urged Congress to block ‘foreign adversaries’ from buying US farmland and agribusinesses
- Chen, who owns 80,127 hectares of Oregon timberland, is America’s second-biggest non-local property holder
Montana Senator Jon Tester renewed his demands for the White House to clamp down on sales of US farmland to China following a report this week that a Chinese billionaire is among America’s biggest landowners.
Tester, a Democrat, issued a statement on Friday calling for Congress to block “foreign adversaries” from buying US farmland and agribusinesses. The Land Report on Monday listed Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao as the country’s 82nd-largest land owner and second-biggest foreign owner.
Chen, 50, who made his fortune from a company that made online video games, owns 80,127 hectares (198,000 acres) of Oregon timberland that he bought in 2015.
“While we learn more about the specifics around this unfolding situation, it highlights the need for Congress to do more to protect American agricultural security,” Tester said in the statement.
A call to Chen’s California office seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.
He said he issued a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking them to review Chen’s purchase and suggest ways to strengthen the tracking and vetting of large land sales to foreign buyers.