China doesn't just want our Silicon Valley secrets. China is coming for our seeds, too

Fox News | Reps. Mike Gallagher

A strange trend is sweeping across China. Outside Chengdu, an urban park next to a golf course and luxury villa now sports a sign "Return to Agricultural Use." In the southeastern province of Fujian, a farmer described having his daffodil fields bulldozed. Reportedly, it’s all part of a new directive from the ChineseCommunist Party to reclaim arable land, roll back reforestation initiatives, and rapidly increase grain production to achieve "food security."

But as China clears vast tracts of land in service of what some have called a "New Great Leap Forward," what may be going into the ground is stolen American technology. Not fiberoptic cable and semiconductors, but something just as important: high-tech seeds. 

​Back in 2011, a field manager at a farm in Iowa spotted an unfamiliar man digging in one of his fields. When he confronted the stranger, the man claimed to be from a university and hurriedly excused himself. The field happened to be planted with special seeds from DuPont Pioneer, and the manager passed along the unnerving incident to the company which informed the FBI. The investigation uncovered a Chinese seed smuggling ring and the man digging in the field, Mo Hailong, was charged by the Department of Justice and sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to steal trade secrets. 

Read the full op-ed HERE.