At a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday, several Senators raised concerns about Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland, and proposed expanding the role of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in reviewing these transactions.

China's Customs recently announced import suspensions on poultry products and other animal products from certain countries due to animal disease outbreaks. On the other hand, it also lifted a decade-long import ban on animal products from Colombia.

A group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives has put forward a new effort to restrict farmland purchases associated with the Chinese government, following a number of other similar legislative efforts.

A Chinese investment in a North Dakota corn mill facility was formally approved by a U.S. federal government body last month, but there is continued political pressure to block the investment. A U.S. Air Force official has now weighed in with concerns.

A bicameral, bipartisan group of members of Congress has introduced legislation to "protect America’s agricultural industry from improper foreign investment," with Chinese farmland purchases as a key target.

Last week, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and some legislators announced proposed legislation to restrict foreign purchases of agricultural land in South Dakota, with Chinese purchases as the main focus.

Republicans in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have proposed legislation that would restrict investment from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia in U.S. agricultural land and businesses.