Rep. Reschenthaler in the Observer Reporter: Southwest Pa.’s energy dominance can help counter China

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler serves on the national security and economics and energy pillars of the China Task Force. This op-ed originally appeared in the Observer Reporter.

Our region understands the consequences of China’s malicious behavior better than most. In 2015, Washington County made national headlines when a deadly batch of fentanyl-laced heroin, an illicit substance exported from China, tragically caused 25 overdoses in the span of 48 hours. In 2014, a federal grand jury indicted five members of China’s People’s Liberation Army for stealing technologies from multiple Pittsburgh-based companies. On the banks of our rivers, abandoned factories serve as a stark reminder of China’s unfair trade practices, such as the dumping of cheap steel.

And, like many communities across our nation, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) deceit and negligence in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic led to unimaginable levels of economic hardship in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Read the full op-ed here.