Chinese-owned corn mill raises concerns
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — For years, the leaders of Grand Forks had their eyes on a patch of cropland north of town, not far from a pasta-making facility, a potato processor and a stateowned flour mill where farmers received top dollar for their wheat. That muddy field, they thought, would be the perfect place for another agriculture business.
So when Fufeng USA, the American subsidiary of a Chinese company that makes components for animal feed, announced last year it wanted to build a corn mill in that field, officials in Grand Forks celebrated. The mill, they said, would bring as many as 1,000 construction jobs and more than 200 permanent jobs to the city. Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, described it as a “huge opportunity” for all of North Dakota.
But what local politicians lauded as an unambiguous win soon divided Grand Forks. Some residents were excited by the prospect of more jobs and investment, but the company’s ties to China turned others against the project. Anti-Fufeng signs, including hammer-and-sickle flags, popped up in yards. City council meetings that used to focus on road design and utility contracts suddenly turned into fiery discussions about communism and spying.
In Grand Forks, city leaders who welcomed investment at a tumultuous economic moment grappled with how the city’s desire to spur more growth fit into the context of geopolitical trends.
“I think what you’ve seen, at least recently, is a large push away from globalization,” said Mayor Brandon Bochenski, a first-term Republican who supports the new mill and added that it would be Grand Forks’ largest economic development effort in recent history. He asked: “Are we going to be the first one to basically say no to globalism?”
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, when an aviation company with a Grand Forks factory was struggling, a firm owned by the Chinese government bought the company. Back then, the residents of Grand Forks, 75 miles south of the Canadian border, were mostly relieved that the facility stayed open. Eleven years later, the company, Cirrus Aircraft, has expanded, remaining a centerpiece of the Grand Forks economy.
But the new corn mill proposal came at a different moment.
A recent Pew poll found that 76 percent of Americans surveyed had an unfavorable view of China, and that 90 percent believed China did not respect the personal freedoms of its people.
Right after Fufeng said in late 2021 that it was coming to Grand Forks, people voiced the sorts of everyday concerns that come with many large-scale projects. They worried about whether the city had enough water to support the facility’s wet-milling process.
Over the course of a few weeks, the conversation started to shift to China.
Some people listed a range of human rights violations in China. Others had economic objections, questioning the wisdom of doing business with a country that the United States has named as a chief competitor for global influence, and whose espionage efforts the FBI has called a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States.” Some in Grand Forks said they believed the mill would be used to spy on an Air Force base about 15 miles away, a claim the company denied.
“It’s not a local issue. It’s a national security issue,” said Beth Waldeck, a retired teacher and Christian radio host. “I personally think that our City Council has been sold a bill of goods by Fufeng and they have stars in their eyes because they see money coming in, they see growth coming in.”