Some residents and local politicians in New Hampshire have sounded the alarm about national security concerns after a Chinese company purchased a large property near a small town's water system.

Earlier this year, Nongfu Spring, one of China's largest bottled water and soft beverages companies, quietly purchased a 337,391-square-foot industrial building on 23 acres in Nashua.

'One does not become the richest man in that brutally repressive, expansionist country without close ties to ... the CCP.'

Nongfu Spring, owned by China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, paid $67 million, four times the assessed value of the property, after it sat vacant for over a decade.

The company's limited market in the U.S., the inflated sales price, and the building's proximity to the Pennichuck water system, Nashua Airport, defense centers, and the Federal Aviation Administration control center only further raised suspicions about the purchase.

Professor Kerry K. Gershaneck, a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University and author of "Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China's Plan to 'Win Without Fighting,'" told Blaze News, "For too long, CCP-affiliated entities have been purchasing strategically significant properties across the U.S., yet communist China does not allow American entities the same rights. Why would any ethical Granite State official tolerate this lack of reciprocity?"

Water access

Besides concerns prompted by the property's close proximity to potentially sensitive infrastructure, some residents are further concerned about Nongfu Spring's intent to acquire access to the nearby water system, which is owned by the city, to operate the facility.

Pennichuck Water Works insists that it has the capacity to meet the company's needs.

Pennichuck CEO John Boisvert told the Keene Sentinel that supplying Nongfu Spring with water "falls within our existing withdrawal permits."

"We're permitted for over 30 million gallons a day. If you look at average day demands, we're somewhere around 11 or 12 million gallons. In the summertime, we can go up to 20. We've got a lot of excess capacity in that withdrawal," Boisvert said.

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CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

While some critics are concerned about the potential strain the facility will place on the local water supply, others are worried that Nongfu Spring has plans to outright purchase the town's water plant.

Governor Kelly Ayotte (R) told NH Journal that she plans to monitor the deal to ensure that does not happen.

"It's critical that we safeguard New Hampshire from foreign adversaries like China. We need to ensure we aren't allowing any national security threat to take root in our state," she told the news outlet.

Proponents of Nongfu Spring's purchase argue that a water deal with Pennichuck could drive down costs for residents.

C. George Bower, the chairman of Pennichuck's board of directors, told NH Journal, "We have fixed costs and variable costs, and a contract like this brings in an ongoing revenue stream that could help us control rates."

"There is zero plan to sell the company; there is zero plan to sell any land. We have no land to sell," Bower said.

About the company

In 1983, before starting Nongfu Spring, Zhong worked as a journalist for the Zhejiang Daily, the official paper of the Communist Party. Zhong, who also has a controlling stake in the pharmaceutical company Wantai Biological, became China's richest man in 2020, surpassing Tencent's Pony Ma and Alibaba's Jack Ma.

'Only after the story became public and residents started asking questions did they suddenly withdraw that request.'

Gershaneck told Blaze News, "Rational Granite State officials and citizens know that one does not become the richest man in that brutally repressive, expansionist country without close ties to — and proven obedience to — the CCP."

"Totalitarian communist China's strict national security laws require those of Chinese descent globally to support its spy organizations, wage political warfare designed to destroy our country and our friends and allies, and even assist in military operations on its behalf," he added.

Gershaneck noted that the inflated sales price "raises legitimate questions as to other motivations behind this purchase beyond simply gaining access to fresh water to make fruit juice."

Despite Zhong's suspected connections to the Chinese Communist Party, Nongfu Spring faced boycotts last year driven by Chinese nationals. They accused the company of using Japanese-inspired designs on its bottles. Chinese nationals also expressed concerns that the Chinese company would be passed down to Zhong's son, an American citizen who graduated from the University of California, Irvine, and is currently listed as a non-executive director at his father's company.

The rampant online campaign reportedly dropped the company's market capitalization by $3 billion and Zhong's personal wealth by $2 billion.

It is uncertain whether the backlash affected Nongfu Spring's decision to purchase property in New Hampshire, and the company's intentions for the property are still unclear.

RELATED: University of Michigan now under fire after Chinese scholars allegedly smuggle bio-weapon

Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Community reaction

New Hampshire state Senator Kevin Avard (R) has been a vocal critic of the recent sale.

Avard told Blaze News that "within weeks" of purchasing the property, Nongfu Spring "filed a request to pump up to 2 million gallons of water a day from Nashua's public water supply."

"Only after the story became public and residents started asking questions did they suddenly withdraw that request," he stated. "We fought hard years ago to keep Pennichuck's water in public hands — we shouldn't have to fight again to keep it out of foreign ones."

He added, "I think it's fair to ask: When billion-dollar companies with ties to a hostile foreign regime overpay for vacant property in New Hampshire, are they buying influence, buying silence, or both?"

The Chinese company's New Hampshire property purchase is not an isolated situation. Avard noted that "another CCP business" bought a former college campus near Nashua Airport.

Lily Tang Williams, a Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire and a survivor of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, similarly expressed concerns about Chinese businesses purchasing property in her back yard.

"Daniel Webster College located on a 54-acre campus next to Nashua Airport was sold to a Chinese businessman in 2018. The campus is largely inactive with some buildings rented out. This, just like China's richest man's water company real estate deal[,] were not reviewed by [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States]," Tang Williams stated.

The Treasury Department and Nongfu Spring did not respond to a request for comment.

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