Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined 16 other Republican governors earlier this week calling on President Joe Biden and Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen to prevent foreign adversaries, such as China, from buying land in the United States. The Republican Governor’s Association said in a press release that "numerous governors and state legislatures have taken action to protect our citizens from the imminent national security threat of the Chinese Communist Party." Governor Sanders took action in October to force seed company Syngenta — a Chinese-owned company — to revoke ownership of 160 acres of farmland in northeast Arkansas after the passage of Act 636 in 2023, which bans China or Chinese-based companies from owning agricultural land in the state.
Ozarks at Large also reported in October on the growth of crypto mining companies setting up across Arkansas. Allegations that the cryptomine LLCs are owned and operated by Chinese foreign nationals or the Chinese government have been reported for months. Ozarks at Large reached out to the governor’s office in regards to our reporting in October with no response. Following the latest call from Governor Sanders and other Republican governors to prevent Chinese ownership of land in the US, we asked her office once again for comment on the allegations of Chinese land ownership occurring in her own state. Alexa Henning is the governor’s spokesperson; she says the state’s Department of Agriculture is aggressively investigating the connections between certain bitcoin mines and the Chinese Communist Party. She also says violators of Arkansas law will be forced to sell their illegally held land and could face prosecution.
As stated earlier, Act 636 bans China or Chinese-based companies from owning agricultural land in Arkansas. It is not clear what Arkansas law would be broken if it is determined that these crypto mining companies are connected to China.
