Amping up rhetoric against China, Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas officials are threatening to bar Chinese nationals — as well as those from Iran, North Korea and Russia — from buying property in Texas.
The big picture: Suspicions about connections between the Chinese government and Chinese companies and individuals are running red hot, from Washington to state capitols across the country.
What they're saying: The growing ownership of Texas land by some foreign entities is highly disturbing," Kolkhorst said in December after filing the bill." As an American go try to buy land near a Chinese military base and see how it works out for you."
Abbott looks to ban Chinese nationals from property purchases - Axios Austin
The big picture: Suspicions about connections between the Chinese government and Chinese companies and individuals are running red hot, from Washington to state capitols across the country.
- Abbott has already called for barring TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, from state-owned devices over cybersecurity concerns.
- Critics say the policies demonize Chinese Americans, pointing to racist attacks against people of Asian heritage.
- Abbott has said on Twitter he would sign such a bill into law.
- "Communist China, America's greatest foe, is on a bender," Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller wrote in an op-ed last year that encouraged such a ban. "They are buying up farmland across the United States and Texas."
What they're saying: The growing ownership of Texas land by some foreign entities is highly disturbing," Kolkhorst said in December after filing the bill." As an American go try to buy land near a Chinese military base and see how it works out for you."
- She cited the purchase in 2021 of more than 130,000 acres in South Texas by a Chinese firm as part of plans to build a wind farm.
- Kolkhorst said on Friday the bill "will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents," the Texas Tribune reported.
- "This is the house my parents bought when we were on our way to citizenship," he said. "This was our first step on our path to the American dream. This was our milestone. This is what we did to show that we're here and we made it.
- "This type of legislation is what we're facing all over again," he continued, likening the Kolkhorst bill to previous anti-Asian federal policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. "... And we cannot stand for this."
- Of note: International homebuyers include non-U.S. citizens who are here on a green card or are here on a foreign work or student visa.
- More than half of the foreign buyers have a U.S. green card, signaling they're lawful permanent residents.
- The trade association Texas Realtors is "monitoring this issue closely," spokesperson David Gibbs tells Axios.
Abbott looks to ban Chinese nationals from property purchases - Axios Austin
No place in China for them to put their money really and get a real return like they can here or in Europe etc. Look at any major us city and you will see this. Buying real estate in China is complicated as you can't own land in China, you technically lease it from the government for 70 years at a time if it is a residential property. Buying in the US is way less complicated for them and way more lucrative.
