What’s China Buying in Your Backyard?

Soft Power, Water Rights, and the Nashua Land Grab

It didn’t make national headlines. It barely made local ones. But just a few miles from my front door in Nashua, New Hampshire, a Chinese company made a strategic move that should raise every alarm bell we have left.

In January 2025, a subsidiary of China’s powerful bottled water giant Nongfu Spring—operating in the U.S. as NF North America—purchased a massive industrial site at 80 Northwest Boulevard for $67 million. That price was nearly four times the property’s assessed value. Why would they do that?

The site—over 330,000 square feet on 23 acres—sits just minutes from Pennichuck Pond, one of Nashua’s most vital water sources. That proximity wasn’t incidental. Nongfu’s declared business includes “production, sales, warehousing, distribution, import-export of food, bottled water, and beverages.” They bought a building, yes—but the real prize may have been the clean New Hampshire water flowing nearby.

Pennichuck Water Works, which supplies municipal water to Nashua and surrounding towns, is authorized to draw over 30 million gallons per day. Right now, usage averages around 11–12 million gallons, with summer peaks hitting 20 million. We don’t know yet how much Nongfu intends to use, but any large-scale bottling operation could shift the balance—and fast.

And the logistics say even more. Nongfu has already applied to widen the driveway to the site from 45 feet to 86 feet. That’s not landscaping. That’s preparing for heavy truck traffic—a commercial scale operation, likely for national or international export. They’re also seeking zoning adjustments to officially allow beverage manufacturing in the industrial park.

Let’s connect the dots. The facility is near:

• A municipal airport

• The city’s primary water supply

• Major New England highways

• And the former Daniel Webster College, which was sold years ago to a Chinese investor as well

All of this adds up to more than just a business deal. This is a strategic acquisition that fits China’s growing pattern of soft power expansion: overpaying for local land, embedding in communities that aren’t looking, and securing footholds in critical infrastructure—especially water.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire are starting to pay attention. Some have proposed legislation to restrict foreign (specifically Chinese) ownership of property near infrastructure, aquifers, and military bases. But the deal in Nashua already happened. Nongfu is already here.

This isn’t xenophobia. It’s strategy. You don’t have to hate China to notice that they’re playing chess while we’re not even on the board.

So the question stands:

What’s China buying in your backyard?

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💰 How Tariffs Made This Soft Power Move Even Smarter

At first glance, China buying an overpriced industrial site in Nashua might seem odd—until you remember how U.S. tariff policy works.

When the U.S. slaps tariffs on Chinese imports, it raises the cost of exporting goods into the country. So instead of fighting that wall, smart companies like Nongfu Spring just walk through the side door:

They buy land, bottle water inside the U.S., and avoid the tariffs altogether.

By acquiring property in New Hampshire, Nongfu avoids international trade friction and gains unrestricted access to American water, labor, and infrastructure. Bottling locally means they can label products “Made in the USA” while still funneling profits back to China.

Water, notably, is a tariff-free export. So what starts as a “local business deal” becomes a global arbitrage move: using cheap American water to profit in foreign markets without paying U.S. tariffs or reinvesting in the local economy.

So while we argue over trade policy and supply chains, China is doing something much quieter—and more permanent:

They’re buying the source.

This isn’t just soft power. It’s smart power, exploiting the gaps in our system while we’re distracted by the noise.

🛠️ Want to take action?

• Call the Nashua Water Board and ask for transparency on Nongfu’s projected water usage

• Request full disclosure from Pennichuck Water Works about commercial contracts and capacity

• Support legislation that prevents unregulated foreign ownership of strategic American assets