Arkansas orders Chinese company's subsidiary to divest itself of agricultural land

The subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company has been ordered by Arkansas to divest itself of 160 acres of agricultural land under a new law. The order announced by Arkansas on Tuesday is the the first such action under a wave of new laws restricting foreign ownership of farmland. The state is targeting land owned by Northrup King Seed Co., a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds. Syngenta is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina. Syngenta said it was disappointed in the state's decision about the land, which it has owned since 1988. The new Arkansas law gives the company two years to divest.