Over the past few years, Chinese interference in Texas has come to light on multiple fronts, including with regard to the purchase of state land and the state’s power grid.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Chinese investors have acquired 383,935 acres of land in the United States—much of it located in Texas. Consequently, one of the Republican Party of Texas’ legislative priorities for the upcoming 89th session is banning the sale of Texas land to hostile countries like China.
This echoes the opinions of Texans across the state, who have decried statewide Chinese influence. A recent poll by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility revealed that 76 percent of respondents believe that the Texas Legislature ought to ban the sale of state land to China.
State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) has filed two measures in the Texas House aimed at protecting state land from purchase by hostile nations.
The first, House Bill 191, would block countries that are federally identified as national security threats from purchasing or leasing Texas land. The second, House Bill 243, would empower the attorney general to acquire via “eminent domain” property purchased by certain foreign entities.
“As a practicing attorney of 38 years handling contested real estate litigation, as the owner of the oldest family-owned title company in the State of Texas, and as someone who routinely forms and sets up entities with the Texas Secretary of State’s office and oversees their operation, I feel that I understand the issues and challenges very well,” Spiller said.
China also poses a risk to Texas’ electric grid. The country, which is among the nations capable of shutting down power in the United States via an EMP, has already penetrated the state’s grid.
Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe warned that China is both an “adversary” and a “competitor.” According to Ratcliffe, China is currently more of an adversary than a competitor—when it should be the other way around.
China reportedly supports U.S. utilization of so-called “green energy” because it results in America’s reliance upon China. One way this happens is evidenced by U.S. purchases of materials for wind and solar energy from China.
“The reliance on China just makes it infinitely worse,” said Kyle Bass, a national security specialist and member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China. “When you think about the components within the windmills or the solar panels, they’re computer chips, right?”
Bass continued, “If someone wants to inhibit the flow, they can actually do it if they know if they can get to those chips. Well, who do you think’s providing those chips for those solar panels? The bad guys.”
Yet, through a series of executive orders, Gov. Greg Abbott has begun cracking down on Chinese influence in Texas.
In late November, he directed both the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Public Utilities Commission to prepare for and counteract any Chinese actions aimed at disrupting Texas infrastructure—including water, energy, and transportation.
“China has made it clear that they can—and will—target and attack America’s critical infrastructure,” he wrote. “Texas will continue to protect our critical infrastructure to ensure the safety of Texans from potential threats by the Chinese Communist Party or any hostile foreign government.”
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