He based this on the fact New Zealand was not a large volume producer of food compared with other countries which dispelled the food security theory, but New Zealand had efficient food producers.
New Zealand's intellectual property was a valuable asset, and something he believed should be considered for sale as competitors would eventually source the knowledge.
"We should be prepared to sell our intellectual property if we can do so at a profit, because countries like China are going to get it from somewhere, so we might as well clip the ticket along the way."
Mr Carter was reacting to news last week that Hong Kong-listed Natural Dairy New Zealand wanted to take its New Zealand farm holdings beyond the 29 Crafar farms it proposed buying.
It was revealed it was looking to raise $1.5 billion from Asia to buy additional farms in both islands, including up to 100 in Otago and Southland, and to build two dairy processing plants.
All that hinged on getting approval from the Overseas Investment Office, a process Mr Carter described as sound.
He said it would only be forthcoming if the applicant could show it was a decent corporate citizen and if the deal would be of net economic benefit to New Zealand.
He said New Zealanders should not forget the country had a history of sourcing overseas investment, but in recent years New Zealanders had been investing in China, South America, North America and Australia.
The free trade agreement with China, which had seen that country leapfrog to become New Zealand's second most important trading partner, was likely to result in greater interest in New Zealand from Chinese investors.