The US state of Texas, starting September 1, is restricting the ownership and leasing of real estate by foreigners from a number of countries, including China and Russia, reports the BBC, analyzing its impact, writes UNN.
Details
Texas Senate Bill 17 of 2025, also known as SB 17, will come into effect on September 1, restricting individuals and companies from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia from buying and leasing real estate.
Officials say the bill aims to protect national security. But there are other opinions. "It's anti-Asian, anti-immigrant, and specifically targets Chinese Americans," said Texas House Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat leading the fight against the bill.
The new law could harm business in Texas, Wu told the BBC. Companies that could bring millions of dollars in investment to the state are looking for options elsewhere.
SB 17 was proposed earlier this year and signed on June 20 by Governor Greg Abbott, who called it "the strictest ban in America" to keep foreign "adversaries" away.
It prohibits certain individuals and entities from countries identified as threatening national security from purchasing real estate in Texas, including homes, commercial properties, and agricultural land. It also limits the term for which they can lease real estate to less than one year.
China is the first country mentioned in the legislation, which accuses Beijing of using "coercive, subversive, and malicious activities to weaken the United States" in its attempt to surpass the US economically, militarily, and politically, the publication notes.
Those who violate the law can be fined over $250,000 or imprisoned.
US citizens and green card holders are exempt from this, and valid visa holders will still be able to have one primary residence. But opponents say that regardless of the exceptions, the bill is discriminatory, and anyone perceived as Chinese could be subjected to unfair scrutiny.
Chinese citizens are the largest group affected by the new law. As of 2023, at least 120,000 people born in mainland China resided in Texas.
In addition to small businesses, the bill could directly affect multinational companies from China.
According to a report by state officials, between 2011 and 2021, 34 Chinese companies registered 38 investment projects, $2.7 billion in capital investments, and 4,682 jobs in Texas.
Some Chinese companies are reportedly now looking for alternatives to Texas.
Abbott says his top priority is the safety and protection of Texans.
When asked by the BBC for comment, his office referred to previous statements on the matter, including a press release that stated "hostile foreign adversaries," including China, "cannot be allowed to own land in Texas."
The legislative efforts were partly prompted by Chinese businessman Sun Guangxin's controversial purchase of 140,000 acres of land in Texas for a wind farm between 2016 and 2018, including land near Laughlin Air Force Base, the publication writes.
Although the project was initially approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Texas passed a law in 2021 prohibiting deals with certain foreign companies regarding "critical infrastructure," and Sun's project was thwarted.
A survey conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, collected 224 cases of espionage against the US by China from 2000 to 2023 from open sources.
National security experts suggest that US threats related to the CCP have increased in recent years.
"The risk is real," Holden Triplett, former head of the FBI's Beijing office, told the BBC.
"Targeting the US at the subnational level is increasingly becoming an intelligence trend. Individuals and groups at this level tend to be less aware of the risks and more inclined to establish relationships," Triplett said.
But Patrick Toomey of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that in the case of SB 17, some officials mistakenly equated the Chinese people with the Chinese government.
Addition
Bill SB 17 is not the first such bill in the US.
26 US states, most of which are controlled by Republicans, have passed 50 bills restricting foreign ownership since 2021, targeting China.