National Security Concerns Mount as Chinese Company Builds Major Plant Near North Dakota Military Base

Senator Kevin Cramer seeking answers why company chose location near base that houses sensitive drone, satellite, and surveillance technology

A China-based agribusiness with links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is moving ahead with plans to build a corn mill in Grand Forks, North Dakota, despite local concerns the project could pose national security risks.

Fufeng Group Limited—the second largest xanthan gum producer in China—recently purchased 370 acres north of Grand Forks after the city council voted to annex the property.

A Hong-Kong listed company, Fufeng Group is based in Shandong Province and has subsidiaries in 115 countries around the world.

The future corn mill plant would operate through U.S. subsidiary Fufeng USA on prime land about a dozen miles from Grand Forks Air Force base. Minot Air Force Base sits about 211 miles west of the city.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said the project raises many red flags in terms of national security.

Airmen assigned to the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, tow an RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft on June 6, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ashley Richards)

Cramer specifically wants to know why the group selected to build close to a strategic military base in a remote northeast corner of North Dakota that houses sensitive drone, satellite, and surveillance technology.

Located 75 miles south of Canada, Grand Forks is “a wonderful spot in the Red River Valley,” Cramer told The Epoch Times.

“But it’s in the northern reaches of corn country. That in and of itself is a peculiarity. It doesn’t seem like a rational investment for this type of facility.”

“In other words, [logistically] you would have a corn milling plant in the middle of the corn belt. If this project were 150