NEWS WEEK
Arkansas has become the first state to order that a Chinese company give up ownership of local land, amid fears of attempts by Beijing to malignly infiltrate and influence the U.S. through various means.
On Tuesday, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that she was ordering Syngenta to relinquish its 160 acres of land holdings in northeastern Arkansas, accusing its owner of “posing a clear threat to our state.” The Switzerland-headquartered agricultural chemicals producer was acquired in 2017 by the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation, and primarily trades in pesticides and seeds.
“Seeds are technology,” Sanders said at a press conference. “Chinese state-owned corporations filter that technology back to their homeland, stealing American research and telling our enemies how to target American farms. That is a clear threat to our national security.”
Syngenta has yet to comment publicly on the announcement. Newsweek approached the company and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment on Wednesday…
