By: Edward Zeng

Fufeng Group, an agricultural company from China, has chosen the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota as one of its first corn mill sites in the United States.

The mill would bring more than 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs to the city, according to The New York Times. Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, celebrated, saying that it would be a “huge opportunity.” However, some locals opposed the decision.

Signs popped up portraying Fufeng as communists or spies because they were a Chinese company, and China has been accused of spying.

China and the United States have long been trade partners, but recently, American politicians have been accusing China of many things, creating a distrust between the two nations. The COVID-19 pandemic only propelled this distrust.

In April 2022, the FBI was invited to investigate the corn mill. The protesters still weren’t happy because the FBI wouldn’t be transparent about whether there were government-involved activities or not.

They also reasoned that Grand Forks wasn’t in need of more jobs. The city was growing, and the unemployment rate was lower than the national average. The mayor, however, still stood by the project.

More than 18% of the population is in poverty, much high than the national average, according to The New York Times. Fufeng Group is also a private business, and the government does not control it. The corn mill is also based in the U.S. and only manufactures and sells in the U.S.

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas remarks, “Maybe it’s just a corn mill. But it would also provide the potential at least for Chinese intelligence to engage in intelligence collection of various kinds.”