Arkansas secretary of agriculture asks attorney general to investigate possible Chinese ownership of Sebastian County business

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward is asking Attorney General Tim Griffin to investigate a Sebastian County business for Chinese government ties.

A letter from Ward sent to the AG on Wednesday states that reasonable suspicion exists that 4811 S Zero Street, LLC may have ownership ties to China and the Chinese Communist Party.

Ward’s letter asks for the investigation in accordance with Act 636, passed by the legislature in 2023, which requires the agriculture department to collect and analyze information about possible foreign ownership.

“As of the date of this letter, China continues to be a country subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is subject to the prohibitions of Act 636,” Ward said in the letter.

Neither Ward’s letter nor corporate records indicate the kind of business conducted by 4811 S Zero Street.

Ward said in the letter that the business’s proximity to the Ebbing National Guard Base in Fort Smith was a national security concern.

A search of 4811 S Zero Street LLC on the secretary of state’s website shows the business is owned by Pei-Te Lin, who is listed as the firm’s incorporator, organizer and manager. The agent for the business registration resolves to a Little Rock address for a national corporation service company.

The corporation’s principal address record resolves to a warehouse-type building in a Fort Smith industrial park.

Act 636 was used in October 2023 to require the China National Chemical Company to divest its land holdings in Craighead County for the Northrop King Seed Company.