Air Force warns Chinese company’s North Dakota mill would be ‘significant’ national security threat

The U.S. Air Force has stepped into the debate surrounding a Chinese company’s proposed North Dakota corn mill, declaring it a national security risk.

Mayor Brandon Bochenski of Grand Forks, North Dakota, announced Tuesday his intention to stop the development of a Chinese-owned corn mill due to concerns voiced by the federal government.

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The Chinese-owned Fufeng Group paid $2.3 million to purchase the 300 acres of land just 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base. The company plans to invest $700 million to open the mill.

“The federal government has requested the city’s help in stopping the project as [geopolitical] tensions have greatly increased since the initial announcement of the project,” Bochenski announced Tuesday.

He continued, “The only remedies the city has to meet this directive is to refuse to connect industrial infrastructure and deny building permits. As mayor of the city of Grand Forks, I am requesting these remedies be undertaken and the project be stopped, pending City Council approval.”

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Local officials and federal authorities have warned that Fufeng has deep ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

North Dakota’s senators released on Tuesday a letter they received from Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew Hunter in which the military official warned against the Fufeng project.

In the letter, Hunter pointed to the proposed corn mill’s proximity to Grand Forks Air Force Base as a major risk.

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Local officials and federal authorities have warned that Fufeng has deep ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
(Reuters / Thomas Peter / File)

“Grand Forks Air Force Base is the center of military activities related to both air and space operations,” Hunter wrote.

He continued, “While [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] concluded that it did not have jurisdiction, the Department’s view is unambiguous: the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area.”

Fufeng would be the largest foreign private sector investment in the history of Grand Forks. The city said the plant would…