National Security Threat of China-Dominated U.S. Agricultural Sectors

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“AMERICAN” COMPANIES BEHOLDEN TO CHINESE INTELLIGENCE DIRECTIVES

INTRODUCTION

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is dedicated to the systematic exploitation of any opportunities it can detect to degrade the United States’ civilizational architecture, including undermining food supply chains, sponsoring agri-terrorism, engaging in intellectual property theft, appropriating proprietary corporate data, manipulating trading relationships, seizing control of agricultural land and other strategic American real estate, manipulating our political structures, and undermining our general economic health.

Chinese-owned agricultural companies now hold significant stakes in multiple sectors of the American agricultural industry, which constitutes a comprehensive national security threat that must be identified, mitigated, and eventually nullified. American agriculture is a $1.5 trillion industry, accounting for over 5% of the United States' GDP and supporting approximately 10% of all American employment.

These People’s Republic of China-owned (PRC) companies are, by definition, subject to China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017, which obligates full compliance with state security and intelligence agencies, and the Data Security Law of 2020, which mandates that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) share data with Chinese intelligence services.

For example, Smithfield, owned by the PRC-based WH Group, controls one-quarter of U.S. pork production. This has granted them market dominance, enabling them to set prices and establish industry standards. Another agri-business, Syngenta, is a state-owned PRC company that lobbies certain key federal agencies that determine U.S. trade and agricultural policy, and allegedly engages in systematic IP theft, data scraping, and the use of Uyghur slave labor.

Unfortunately, agriculture at this scale currently depends on massive imports of essential equipment, raw materials, and chemicals from overseas, and we cannot afford to leave this fragile system vulnerable to foreign adversary manipulation. In addition, foreign adversary dominance of key protein supply chains, such as domestic pork production, leaves basic sources of Americans’ caloric intake vulnerable to potential denial and weaponization in the event of a war or international crisis.

A successful America First national security policy necessitates a robust confrontation of this threat. Policy solutions include: a comprehensive review of Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) past approvals for purchases made by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), legal penalties for unlawful behavior by Chinese SOEs, expansion of Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) registration requirements for foreign adversary SOEs, a reevaluation of critical agricultural supply chains, and full implementation of the USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan.

Smithfield Foods’ Purchase by WH Group

• Smithfield was acquired by WH Group, a Chinese holding company, in 2013.
• Chinese-owned Smithfield controls one quarter of U.S. pork production.
• Smithfield has been involved in multiple scandals, including cartel-like market manipulation and price-fixing, repeated uncontrolled releases of pollution, and child labor.

Syngenta’s Acquisition by ChemChina

• Syngenta Group is an agricultural chemical (agri-chem), seeds, and biotechnology business owned by ChemChina, a state-owned enterprise (SOE) of the PRC, since 2017.
• Many in the agricultural sector mistakenly perceive Syngenta to be still Swiss-owned.
• The Syngenta Group’s 2024 revenues totaled over $13 billion in the crop protection sector.

Syngenta Group May Be Complicit in Slave Labor

• Syngenta’s China arm, Syngenta Group China, has a vast web of subsidiaries and constituent firms in the PRC, including Xinjiang Jinfengyuan Seed Industry Co., Ltd, which has maintained a working relationship with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC).
• The XPCC has been identified as the primary “private” violator of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in Xinjiang.

CCP Drones and “Big Data Operations” Scrape American Data

• Syngenta has secured exclusive agreements with Chinese manufacturers to provide farmers with drones for land surveying and pesticide spraying, and both companies offer “data tools” to assist farmers with decision-making to maximize output and crop health.
• China uses both vectors to gather proprietary information on American farm operations.

Chinese Regulatory Bodies Leverage import processes for ip theft

• China’s Byzantine regulatory model for importing crops produced from new genetically modified seeds has a significant influence on the global market and has been weaponized to frustrate biotech trait developers based in the U.S., who compete with Syngenta.
• The institutions that China outsources agricultural product evaluations to, such as universities, are also implicated in systemic, state-backed IP theft.

CCP-tied Enterprises Meddling in American Politics

• Since being acquired by their respective Chinese owners, Syngenta has paid over $8 million for federal lobbying, and Smithfield has paid over $11 million.
• Despite being principally owned by Chinese corporations, they have not registered as foreign entities.
• At a time when the most consequential trade and tariff policies in a generation were being determined, Syngenta and Smithfield lobbied key elements of the federal government—including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative (USTR)—on issues with direct bearing on China’s economic destiny.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend the following policies to resolve this security threat:

1. CFIUS Review and Re-Evaluation: CFIUS should re-review the purchases of both Syngenta and Smithfield, and any Chinese SOE purchases.
2. Mandatory FARA Registration: Chinese-owned businesses should be considered agents of a foreign government for the purposes of FARA, and their registration should be mandatory.
3. Domestic Divestiture: Both Syngenta and Smithfield Foods should be compelled to divest to a domestic company.
4. Enforce the UFLPA: Syngenta Group China’s apparent collaboration with XPCC violates the UFLPA and necessitates investigation and sanction.
5. Ban CCP Drones: Prevent the mass adoption of Chinese-manufactured drones for use in American agriculture.
6. Protect U.S. Land: Legislation at the federal and state levels should be enacted to restrict the control of American farmland by foreign adversary nationals.
7. Farm Security is National Security: The USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan should be implemented to its full extent.