Kansas lawmakers have passed legislation that will ban companies from adversarial countries from purchasing land near military sites.

The countries listed as ‘adversarial’ include:

  • China
  • Russia
  • Iran
  • North Korea
  • Venezuela

“The state House approved SB 172 with an 86-39 vote on Monday, and the state Senate followed, passing the bill 24-14 on Tuesday, as reported by The Kansas City Star. The legislation was partially prompted by plans from Cnano Technology USA, a subsidiary of a Chinese firm, to develop a large factory in the state,” Chuck Callesto wrote.

According to The Kansas City Star, Cnano Technology had plans to construct a “$95 million, 333,000-square-foot facility in the business park of New Century AirCenter.”

The Kansas City Star reports:

The measure comes amid growing U.S. concern over foreign influence as China and the United States compete for dominance and Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, which receives significant American aid. President Joe Biden recently signed a foreign aid bill into law that will lead to a ban on Chinese-owned TikTok if the app is not sold, a development supporters of the Kansas bill pointed to this week.

“This is a very serious issue and if we can get bipartisan support at the federal level for TikTok, we should be able to do it here in Kansas,” said Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican who chairs the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee.

The Kansas legislation with limited exceptions bans citizens and companies – along with subsidiaries – of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela from owning non-residential real estate within 100 miles of any military installation amid fears of foreign interference and espionage.

The radius would effectively apply the restrictions to most areas of the state, given the presence of McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Fort Riley near Junction City, and Fort Leavenworth. The Army Reserve also has a presence at New Century.

“I don’t have a choice on that. We have a military base there,” state Rep. William Sutton, a Republican, said in support of the legislation.

“The Daily Caller News Foundation first reported that Cnano Technology USA’s parent company had extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). That investigation was aided by research conducted by The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project and Heritage Action,” Daily Caller stated.

WATCH:

From Daily Caller:

Cnano Technology USA plans to build a massive facility in Johnson County, Kansas, that will produce components for electric vehicle batteries and other products within about 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth, and 70 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base.

Cnano USA is a subsidiary of C-Nano Technology Co., Ltd., a company that China-based Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co. set up in the British Virgin Islands, according to Cnano Jiangsu’s 2022 annual report.

Cnano Jiangsu’s 2022 social responsibility report states that the company employs several dozen members of the CCP. Furthermore, the company’s English-language website says that the firm has “undertaken a number of national 863” initiatives, a reference to a Chinese government-backed program that the U.S. has accused of trying to steal American technology.

Other corporate materials reviewed by the DCNF revealed that the number of CCP members working for Cnano Jiangsu has increased in recent years and that the firm explicitly promotes the CCP’s ideology.

 

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