China’s Foreign Ministry has hit out at moves to ban Chinese citizens from buying land in some parts of the United States.
It said on Friday that such moves would violate the principles of a market economy and international trade rules.
“Generalizing the concept of national security and politicising economic, trade and investment issues violate the rules of market economy and international trade rules,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.
Mao was responding to a question when asked about Texas and Florida considering a ban on Chinese citizens in the United States from buying property.
Texas, Florida, Arkansas and several other states are weighing legislation that would bar Chinese citizens from buying real estate, according to several reports, as tensions rise between the United States and China over national security issues.
“I want to stress that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. Over the years, Chinese enterprises have invested in the United States and made important contributions to promoting domestic employment and economic development in the United States,” Mao said.
Other states’ citizens could be affected
The move comes as the United States proposes increased retaliatory measures after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down after entering US airspace.
Indeed, Chinese citizens may not be the only nationals affected by such moves.
The legislation proposed by a Republican senator in Texas would also “bar Russians, Iranians and North Koreans from owning real estate,” according to a report by AFP/NDTV.
Foreign ownership of farmland and other real estate, by Chinese citizens or businesses, “is becoming a hot issue in the United States”, it said, adding that some citizens were advocating caution given China is one of Texas’ biggest trading partners.
The spur for the move predates the spy balloon controversy – it was the purchase of a 52,600 hectare (106,000 acre) block near Laughlin Air Force Base by a retired Chinese army officer who said he wanted to build a solar and wind energy farm.
However, the plan was blocked in 2021 after the state legislature passed a law to bar any project linked to the governments of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from connecting to the grid.
Now, nearly a dozen other states are reportedly considering laws to restrict foreign ownership of land and property.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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