Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer express continued security concerns over Fufeng's Grand Forks corn mill project

(Fargo, ND) -- North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer continue to express concerns over a Chinese company's plan to build a corn processing plant in Grand Forks. The senators provided written statements to WDAY News First, after the Council on Foreign Investment in the United States announced they were no longer reviewing the project, saying the land purchase for the project is not a "covered transaction" under federal law.

The project came under CFIUS review following public input on the project, which included concerns raised about the project's potential impact on national security. Some citizens and security analysts assert the plant could be used as a base for the Chinese Communist Party to perform surveillance operations at the U.S. Air Force base in Grand Forks.

“In light of CFIUS’s decision not to review the project due to its jurisdiction, I’ll be asking for intel directly from relevant agencies. My concerns remain the same with the Chinese Communist Party investing in agriculture in North Dakota. I look forward to the classified briefing scheduled for next week to learn more," said Senator Cramer.

“As we cautioned, we understand that CFIUS has concluded the project is not within its jurisdiction but has not offered an opinion or released any details about potential security issues. We will get additional briefings from CFIUS and provide any additional information if we can, but we continue to have security concerns with this project given its proximity to the Grand Forks Air Force Base," said Senator John Hoeven.