Customs and Border Protection officers broke up a scheme by two scientists from China who attempted to smuggle in deadly fungal samples that could have done widespread destruction to American crops and harm human health. Deemed an “agroterror” threat, the couple intended to reproduce the samples. At least one of the two was connected to an electronic device on which she pledged loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Such an effort, if combined with the large tracts of agricultural land acquired by Chinese interests across the U.S. over the past decade, could result of multiple billions of dollars of damage to crops and livestock if the pathogens were allowed to spread unchecked on Chinese-owned property.
Once seen as a business and trading partner, then, in more recent years, a rival, China is now seen more and more as a threat on par with—or greater than—the former Soviet Union. China’s population and economy are far larger relative to the U.S. than the old U.S.S.R. ever was.
Not content to remain passive in the face of the growing threat from Beijing, states have taken action to protect their citizens and state assets from the growing likelihood of a conflict with China. In that effort, Texas is taking the lead.
Concern over China’s potentially harmful infiltration of Texas first took practical effect in 2021, with the passage of the SB 2116 by Republican Senators Donna Campbell and Bob Hall. The law, known as the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, passed unanimously in both chambers and prohibits companies from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from investing in projects connecting to Texas’s critical infrastructure.
In November 2024, after the elections but before the 2025 legislative session convened, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued three executive orders aimed at protecting Texas from the Chinese Communist Party’s malign designs.
As with President Donald Trump and his executive orders, as well as the reforms arising out of the DOGE effort, executive action is needed—but alone, is insufficient. Statutes are always preferrable to executive orders for their lasting effects and greater resilience to legal challenge. And in that department, Texas’s 2025 legislative session was particularly productive, with at least 13 bills making it to Gov. Abbott’s desk that either reinforce his executive orders or strengthen Texas against hostile actions by the CCP. I personally testified in support of three of these on behalf of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Other states have been active in protecting their citizens against the potential for harm from the CCP, notably Florida and Nebraska where the latter banned Chinese tech on state networks. Nebraska even requires ripping and replacing of Huawei telecommunications equipment, something no other state has done.
In Arizona, unfortunately, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation that would have barred land sales adjacent to military bases to Chinese entities. In her veto message, she cited concerns that the bill “…opens the door to arbitrary enforcement” sentiment echoed by the Chinese embassy and CCP-controlled United Front Work Department groups who claim that such laws “…politicize trade and investment…” and “fuel Asian hatred… and racial discrimination.”
Of Texas’s effort, Michael Lucci, CEO of State Armor said, “Governor Abbott created a global standard for executive leadership to counter the CCP that must be adopted by every governor and every allied leader. His Executive Orders spanned transnational repression, higher education reforms, procurement protections, and even preparation for attacks on Texas’ grid. He drove pension divestment from the CCP and the creation of Texas Cyber Command. Texas’s leaders engineered a ‘whole-of-Texas’ response to the CCP. They not only created policy standard, they set a standard for courage against a predacious adversary.”
As the near-miss with the two Chinese scientists shows, states—and the federal government—have no time to spare in rising to meet a new and vast threat from the CCP.
Chuck DeVore is Chief National Initiatives officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He served in the California State Assembly and is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He’s the author of “Crisis of the House Never United.”
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