The White House on Tuesday dodged questions about China’s concerning purchases of land in the United States, including the potential threat of scooping up property near military bases.
John Kirby, the strategic coordinator for communications of President Joe Biden’s national security council shrugged off several questions from Kimberly Halkett, a White House Correspondent for Al Jazeera English about China’s recent land purchases during the daily press briefing.
Chinese investors are among the most active foreign purchasers of real estate in the United States, spending a record $6.1 billion on homes according to the National Association of Realtors.
“I think the question of homeownership is a little bit out of my — out of my swim lane,” Kirby replied when asked to respond to the possible national security threat.
When asked specifically about China’s land purchases near military bases, Kirby replied, “What I will tell you is that the President has been nothing but clear about our concerns about Chinese unfair trade practices and economic practices.”
Halkett repeated the question, asking the White House to respond to the national security threat posed by China’s purchases of land near military bases.
In July, a company linked to the Chinese government purchased 370 acres of land near Grand Forks Air Force base in North Dakota.
“Yeah, I’m probably not the right person to ask about homeownership here in the United States,” Kirby responded.
“This isn’t about homeownership,” Halkett shot back. “This is about buying up land around military installations.”
“We’re going to — we’re going to keep going,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre interrupted, allowing another reporter to ask a different question.
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