Donald Trump Deals New Blow to US Farmers on China Trip [View all]
Source: Newsweek
Published May 16, 2026 at 05:00 AM EDT updated May 16, 2026 at 05:01 AM EDT
President Donald Trump defended Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland during a trip to Beijing this week, arguing that restricting foreign ownership would hurt American farmers by driving down land values.
The remarks, delivered during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, marked a sharp reversal from Trump’s previous hardline stance on Chinese ownership of American agricultural land and immediately intensified concern among farmers and national security hawks already uneasy about Beijing’s growing footprint in U.S. agriculture.
“You want to see farm prices drop, you want to see farmers lose a lot of money? Just take that out of the market,” Trump said when asked about Chinese nationals purchasing farmland and land near military installations.
The comments landed at a difficult moment for rural America. Farmers are already contending with weak commodity prices, high fertilizer costs, trade instability, and uncertainty surrounding agricultural exports to China. For many, Trump’s defense of Chinese investment in farmland added another layer of frustration to an already fragile economic environment.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-deals-new-blow-to-us-farmers-on-china-trip-11957997
Link to tweet
@atrupar
HANNITY: If I wanted to buy property near one of China's military installations, I don't think President Xi would let me
TRUMP: It's not that I love it. Do you want to see farm prices drop and farmers lose a lot of money? Then take that out of the market. They've had a lot of land for a long time. Obama did nothing about it.
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9:53 PM · May 14, 2026
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