PattersonMegan Final IRLS210

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Megan Patterson Phone: (903) 819-1645 Email: megan.patterson7@mycampus.apus.edu 217 Hilltop Dr Dayton, OH 45415 Jeffrey J. Mims, Jr. Mayor City Hall, Second Floor 101 W. Third St. Dayton, OH 45402 Dear Mayor Mims, My name is Megan Patterson, and I have lived in Dayton since January 2019. I will be separating from the Air Force next year and plan to stay in the area. However, I am concerned with the prospect of foreign investments, influence, and outsourcing of work which might negatively impact the financial standing and security of Dayton. The Chinese company Fuyao Glass Industry Group made a statement in 2016 when it took over the former GM plant in Moraine. While our democracy requires a degree of fairness and mutuality in such foreign relations and investments, it is crucial that we fully understand the nature of Chinese inflow and potential security concerns. The Fuyao Glass company has been the recipient of extensive state tax subsidies despite a number of complaints that have ultimately resulted in lawsuits and even fines imposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). However, these are just a portion of larger security concerns which the rapid expanse of Chinese investment and ownership poses to our local communities. With ongoing tensions in the South China Sea and a Chinese communist regime making concerted efforts to buy strategic land across the United States, the threat transcends simple influence to one of national defense. In analyzing the trend of Chinese land purchases and integration of Chinese state-sponsored telecommunications equipment, one can see a correlation with proximity to prominent U.S. military installations (Devore 2022). Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is certainly no exception to this, and I would posit that the expansion of Chinese influence in and around Dayton could pose a real security threat to our defense industrial base operations. Experts have recently called attention to the spread of Chinese companies across the U.S., largely taking advantage of declining wages for manufacturing workers. Auto parts workers in Ohio specifically saw almost a 10% wage decline from 2003 to 2013 (WYSO 2015). Therefore, not only has Fuyao enjoyed large amounts in grants and tax incentives, but this Chinese company has also reaped the benefits of lower wages and even influence within local academia and potential for inroads to companies partnered with Wright-Patterson. Dayton is no stranger to the plight of a widening income gap and the struggles that come with what some have described as the city’s primary issues – violence, drug abuse, and abandonment (MacGillis 2018). While the concept of welcoming in immigrants and refugees to spur the local economy seems like a sound solution, we must also consider the cultural disparities and long-term negative implications of such foreign investments. Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) continuously seek to expand their economic engagements abroad and are very influential nonstate actors. Often these MNCs are actively pursuing their own self-interest in policies and resources for financial gains while operating

Megan Patterson Phone: (903) 819-1645 Email: megan.patterson7@mycampus.apus.edu 217 Hilltop Dr Dayton, OH 45415 under the guise of social enrichment. Examining this situation through a constructivist lens, such international politics are understood to be intersubjectively involved. The various identities of social perspectives provide the context of ordered predictability while maintaining variability themselves in the form of historical, cultural, political and social dependencies (Hopf 2018). In relation to Fuyao and the greater Chinese MNC movement across the U.S., this politics of identity is a continual contest for power, and I fear we are losing the battle. In closing, I implore you to reconsider the expansion of Fuyao Glass America (Schwartzberg 2022). While the near-term investment for the build-out would bring immediate real financial gains, I believe that over time it will not provide long-term improvement to our community. Instead, we need to promote local investments and growth from within to spur our community to action in rebuilding this once thriving economy. Additionally, on a national scale we are experience a dangerous influx of Chinese influence and growing security concerns. As a strategic military and defense industrial base location, Dayton is empowered to promote from within and defend the area from an expanding foreign influence that fails to promote a culture of growth and fair living. Sincerely, Megan Patterson References Devore, Chuck. 2022. “Letting China Purchase US Land Poses An Even Bigger National Security Risk Than You Think.” The Federalist. https://thefederalist.com/2022/ 07/27/letting-china-purchase-us-land-poses-an-even-bigger-national-security-risk- than-you-think/ Hopf, Ted. 1998. "The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory." International Security Vol. 23, No. 1 (Summer 1998), pp. 171-200 MacGillis, Alec. 2018. “How Struggling Dayton, Ohio Reveals the Chasm Among American Cities.” Frontline, September 11, 2018. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ frontline/article/how-struggling-dayton-ohio-reveals-the-chasm-among-american- cities/ Schwartzberg, Eric. 2022. “Fuyao proposing $46M expansion that would create 500 new jobs.” Dayton Daily News, November 16, 2022. https://www.daytondailynews.com /local/fuyao-proposing-46m-expansion-that-would-create-500-new-jobs/ TVVOT6ONBVCZTOKZUJXMSH3VVI/ WYSO. 2015. “A Look Inside The Fuyao Glass Factory—And Why Chinese Companies Are Coming To The U.S.” Local and Statewide News, February 12, 2015. https://www.wyso.org/news/2015-02-12/a-look-inside-the-fuyao-glass-factory-and- why-chinese-companies-are-coming-to-the-u-s

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