President Biden’s National Security Council spokesman on Tuesday dismissed a reporter’s question Purchase of Chinese land in America This is called “homeownership issue”.
John Kirby’s dismissal response came despite bipartisan concerns about land-purchasing near military bases, including from the chairman of the Democrat-led Senate Intelligence Committee.
Al Jazeera reporter Kimberly Halkett briefs Kirby about Chinese entities at the White House daily, some of them linked to The Chinese government, “purchasing American real estate, in some cases farms around military installations.”
“Is it on the administration’s radar to study it or what is being done to protect Americans from making sure homes stay affordable and so on?” Halkett asked.
Kirby attempted to narrow down the questioning by choosing to focus only on the part of the question.
“I think the homeownership question is a little out of my swim alley,” Kirby said.
“It’s really a national security issue, especially when it comes around military installations,” Halkett clarified.
Kirby, a former Pentagon spokesman, again avoided the main issue, saying, “What I will tell you is that the president is not clear on anything about our concerns about Chinese unfair trade practices and economic practices.”
“It’s not about trade, it’s about national security and buying land around military installations,” Hulkett interjected.
“I’m probably not the right person to ask about homeownership here in the United States,” Kirby reiterated.
“It’s not about home ownership,” Halkett clarified again. “It is about buying land around military installations. Is this a matter of concern for this administration?”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre cut the line of questioning over Hallkett’s protest.
“I sent it to your office last week,” Halkett told Kirby. “You have a week to go through this, including the articles.”
Jean-Pierre said, “We can get back to you. We’re going to move on.”
It is common for White House spokesmen to end inquiries at briefings by saying that they will follow up with reporters later, but this rarely happens, especially for controversial topics.
Members of Congress, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), expressed concern this year over the $2.6 million purchase of 300 acres near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota by the Chinese Fufeng group, which will be used by U.S. drones. Hosts combat operations.
Democratic Senator told CNBC in July that “the Senate Intelligence Committee is sounding the alarm loudly about the counter-intelligence threat [China],
“We should be seriously concerned about Chinese investments in locations close to sensitive sites such as military bases around the US,” said the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Republican Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced law Last year – ahead of the high-profile North Dakota sale – to restrict land purchases by China, Iran, North Korea and Russia near military bases.
Cruz said at the time that the bill would “ensure regimes that threaten the United States — such as the Chinese Communist Party — do not have the ability to buy land to prevent and disrupt military activity.”
Although there has been an uptick in North Dakota land purchases recently National concern and doubt According to the company’s claim of wanting land for a corn mill, this is only a small aspect of Chinese investment in American assets. Texas Public Policy Foundation They say That buyers from mainland China spent $6.1 billion on US real estate in 2021.