Missouri’s aggressive move to seize $24 billion in Chinese-owned farmland marks the first major retaliation against China for their deliberate pandemic deception and critical supply hoarding during the pandemic’s darkest hours.
Quick Takes
- A Missouri judge ruled that China owes $24 billion for pandemic damages, including deliberate PPE hoarding and pandemic coverup
- Missouri plans to identify and seize Chinese-owned farmland and other assets to satisfy the landmark judgment
- Chinese entities own approximately 384,000 acres of U.S. farmland, with concerning proximity to military installations
- The case invokes the rarely-used Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to pursue assets of a hostile foreign government
- China has rejected the ruling and threatened reciprocal countermeasures if Missouri proceeds with asset seizures
Historic Legal Victory Against China
Missouri secured a landmark $24 billion judgment against China and its entities for their deceptive practices during the pandemic. U.S. District Court Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. delivered the ruling after finding substantial evidence that China deliberately misled the world about the virus while simultaneously hoarding essential personal protective equipment (PPE) meant for global distribution. The judgment represents one of the largest ever against a foreign government and establishes a precedent for holding China accountable for its pandemic-related misconduct.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2020 by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, targeted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and other Chinese entities. It detailed how China nationalized American PPE factories in China while intentionally concealing the severity of the pandemic virus’s human-to-human transmission. Judge Limbaugh’s ruling noted that China’s deliberate actions cost Missouri over $122 million in additional PPE expenses and approximately $8 billion in lost tax revenue.
More of this, please. Other states should follow Missouri’s lead, claim massive damages from China—which are totally justified—and use the claim to recover Chinese assets like farmland. It’s a scandal Beijing was ever allowed to own farmland in the US in the first place. https://t.co/CnKOgJr6Cv
— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) March 24, 2025
Seizing Chinese Assets on American Soil
Missouri officials are now actively identifying Chinese-owned assets within the state for potential seizure. Attorney General Bailey has stated the intention to pursue all available legal avenues to collect the judgment. “Missouri will start to identify and begin going to court to have court orders issued to seize those assets to make good on that judgment,” Bailey confirmed. The state is expected to work in coordination with the Trump administration to target Chinese-owned farmland and other strategic assets.
“China was misleading the world about the dangers and scope of the Covid-19 pandemic,” wrote Judge Limbaugh in his ruling, establishing the legal foundation for the unprecedented asset seizure. “This is a landmark victory for Missouri and the United States in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world,” Bailey added in a public statement.
China’s diplomatic response was swift and predictable. Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu dismissed the ruling, stating “The so-called lawsuit has no basis in fact, law or international precedent.” The embassy further threatened unspecified “countermeasures” should Missouri proceed with seizing Chinese assets — a hollow threat given China’s dwindling political capital in Washington under President Trump’s administration.
National Security Implications
The Missouri case highlights broader concerns about Chinese ownership of American agricultural land and other strategic assets. According to USDA data, foreign entities owned approximately 40.8 million acres of U.S. farmland as of 2021, with Chinese interests controlling roughly 384,000 acres. National security experts have long warned about the suspicious proximity of these Chinese land purchases to sensitive U.S. military installations, suggesting potential intelligence gathering operations disguised as agricultural investments.
“China’s campaign to hoard the global supply of PPE was performed in conjunction with its repeated misrepresentations on the existence, and then scope and human-to-human transmissibility of, the COVID-19 virus,” Missouri District Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Jr., wrote in his ruling.
The Treasury Department recently proposed a rule specifically designed to block Chinese corporations from acquiring land near U.S. military bases, recognizing the national security threat posed by such purchases. Missouri’s legal victory may accelerate implementation of these protective measures. Several other states are considering similar legislation to ban foreign ownership of farmland, particularly in proximity to sensitive government and military installations.
Setting a Powerful Precedent
Missouri’s lawsuit relies on the rarely-invoked Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which permits U.S. courts to seize assets of foreign governments to satisfy legal judgments. The case creates a framework other states might follow in pursuing compensation for pandemic-related damages. The judgment’s enforcement also represents a critical test case for American resolve in holding China financially accountable for deception that cost countless American lives and trillions in economic damage.
“During the early months of the pandemic, Missouri spent millions more on PPE than it otherwise would have because of Defendants’ hoarding,” Limbaugh wrote.
China’s reaction suggests serious concern about the precedent this case establishes. If Missouri successfully seizes Chinese-owned assets, it would demonstrate America’s willingness to use economic leverage against China in ways previously considered diplomatically untouchable. President Trump’s campaign pledge to ban Chinese nationals from purchasing American farmland aligns perfectly with Missouri’s legal strategy, creating powerful momentum for a comprehensive approach to countering Chinese economic infiltration across the United States.
