Arkansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward has asked Attorney General Tim Griffin to investigate two companies’ possible ties to the Chinese government under a new state law that bans prohibited foreign entities from owning Arkansas agricultural lands.
Ward said in letters to Griffin that Risever Machinery LLC in Craighead County, a manufacturer of parts for heavy equipment, and bitcoin miner Jones Digital LLC, which is building a facility outside DeWitt, may have “significant ties” to China. Ward wrote that the companies may be in violation of Act 636 of 2023, which blocks entities subject to federal International Traffic in Arms Regulations, like China, from acquiring or holding public or private land in Arkansas.
In a statement, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “China is a hostile foreign adversary and under my administration, we will follow the law and not allow companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party to buy up and exploit Arkansas land.”
Risever, which is headquartered in Hefei, China, makes parts for heavy equipment makers like Caterpillar, Volvo, Terex and Komatsu. The company opened a $20 million, 125,000-SF facility near Jonesboro, its first in the U.S., in 2019. The occasion was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson and other state leaders.
Relations between the U.S. and China were less frosty when the project was announced in 2017. Arkansas awarded Risever incentives including a $1 million grant from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund.
“Risever is one of several Chinese companies that are choosing to locate in Arkansas thanks in large part to our skilled workforce and low business costs,” Hutchinson said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Because foreign investment is vital to our state’s economic health, we hope that other companies across the world will see the advantages Arkansas has to offer.”
The other company under scrutiny, Jones Digital, recently won a preliminary court ruling that blocked Arkansas County from enforcing a stricter noise ordinance than allowed under Act 851 of 2023. The state law limits local authorities from “discrimination” against data centers by imposing local restrictions, though some have noted that the law ironically protects Chinese-owned firms.
Arkansas Business reported in July that a bitcoin mine near Greenbrier is tied to Gang Hu (or Hu Gang), leader of Greenland Holdings of Shanghai, which is nearly half-owned by the communist Chinese government. According to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, the mines near Greenbrier and DeWitt are connected through Yizheng “Ethan” Wang. He’s listed as manager of the former and incorporator/organizer of the latter.
Ward has asked Griffin to look into Wang’s ownership of digital asset and crypto-mining operations in the state.
The review comes after Griffin ordered a company owned by the Chinese government divest about 160 acres of land in Craighead County. Northrup King Seed Co., a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds LLC, is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a state-owned enterprise.
Griffin also imposed a civil penalty of $280,000 against Syngenta for failure to report foreign ownership in a timely manner.
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