How US-China tensions could affect who buys the house next door

From page 7 the farmland came from the Chinese acquisition of Smithfield Foods in 2013. Canadian owners, by contrast, held 12.4 million acres.

The figures do not include residential or commercial buildings, though that has largely not been the focus of most legislative efforts. Chinese investors are among the top foreign purchasers of residential real estate, along with Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Other states have had concerns over foreign ownership of land and have made efforts to regulate it. Some states, including Minnesota and Iowa, have enacted bans on foreign ownership of agricultural land, and a larger number place restrictions on such purchases. The Oklahoma Constitution limits land ownership to U.S. citizens. Those laws, unlike the proposal in Texas, do not single out citizens of particular countries.

In Canada, a sweeping ban on foreign ownership of residential property went into effect this year — a move that the country’s liberal leadership said was aimed at curbing soaring housing prices.

However, the proposed ban in Texas, endorsed by Abbott, appears to go further than the laws adopted in other U.S. states, both in applying to all “real property” — including urban buildings or condominium apartments — and in applying its provisions not only to the governments of certain countries but also to their citizens.

During its last session, in 2021, the Texas Legislature barred companies from the same list of countries targeted in one of the business executives who worked with Harris on the effort to raise money for Central America, said it was unlikely to make a difference in the next few months or even years.

“If anyone speaking to you is declaring victory, they’re crazy,” Banga said in November. “There’s work. There’s real work there. That $3 billion is interesting, but it is not implemented yet.” the new proposed law from winning contracts that relate to “critical infrastructure” in the state, including the electricity grid, water treatment plants, and cybersecurity and communications systems.

Banga and others said they had been impressed with Harris’ preparation and well-informed questions behind the scenes on the issue. But he said that the administration’s focus on oversight when investing the funds and deterring illegal migration was critical to its success.

“Then this can make a difference over five or 10 years,” Banga said.

There are other challenges, too. People who have worked with the administration for the past year and a half said that private investment was not enough as the United States competes with other countries, especially China, for investment in the region.

Executives with some of the companies who pledged to spend millions of dollars over the course of the next five years or so said they would also need regulatory changes and adjustments to tariffs if they wanted to be successful in the long run.

They will also need infrastructure to support their investments — roads, internet and power — and a total scale of spending by other similar companies. Both are things that China has embraced as it spreads investments through Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In response, the administration said Monday that Harris would announce a program aimed at increasing investment in infrastructure in the region.

The program aims to help companies gain access to funding from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and will create a Northern Central America Investment Facilitation Team intended to promote economic development.

That bill came in response to the plan by Chinese billionaire Sun Guangxin to construct a wind farm that would have connected to the Texas electricity grid. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the state Senate, and Abbott signed it.

A representative of Sun did not respond to a request for comment.

Last month, more than 100 people joined the rally against the latest proposal on the steps of Houston City Hall, a diverse coalition that included local officials and members of Congress.

“This is wrong,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said, standing at the rally with Wu, who grew up in a house his parents purchased after immigrating to Texas but before they became citizens.

“This could be my family’s home, this could be yours,” the mayor said, pointing to an image of the home, in an area of the city now represented by Wu.