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Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021

Did the Trump administration waive aside local concerns about a Chinese-owned wind farm project in Texas?

Stevie Rosignol-Cortez, Gigafact
yes

The Trump administration declined to block a Chinese company’s plans for a wind farm near Del Rio, Texas, despite concerns expressed by Texas politicians. The developer is a subsidiary of a Chinese energy company owned by Sun Guangxin, a Chinese Communist Party member.

In 2020 Texas politicians asked Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to intervene in his role as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. There are no restrictions on foreign land purchases in U.S., but CFIUS has wide powers to bar foreign investment on national security grounds.

Retired Adm. Bobby R. Inman, now a University of Texas professor, told Texas Public Radio he saw no national security threat from the project, despite the proximity of an air force base. He said it is simply a routine investment from an investor who sees a good market opportunity. “Where is the national security threat?”

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