House bill bars foreign governments from buying North Carolina land

Foreign governments like China and Russia would be barred from purchasing agricultural land in North Carolina or tracts near the state’s military installations in legislation that received unanimous state House approval on Wednesday.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate, is among similar measures being debated nationwide after a suspected Chinese spy balloon recently floated over U.S. territory and was brought down off the South Carolina coast.

Under the measure, an “adversarial foreign government” as defined by the U.S. Secretary of State would be prohibited starting next year from purchasing, leasing or holding interest in land used for agricultural production purposes or land located within a 25-mile radius of an installation. Any such land transfer would be voided.

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“This legislation will mitigate an unnecessary threat to our national and food security,” House Majority Leader John Bell, a Wayne County Republican, said in a news release after the 114-0 vote.

Iran and Cuba also are on the current list of foreign adversaries, which are defined as having “engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons.”