Washington: Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has urged for closer ties with nations like India, Japan, and Australia in order to counter Communist China's expanding influence, which she has dubbed the "greatest threat" to American security and prosperity.
The Indian-origin former governor of North Carolina, who is currently vying for the Republican presidential nomination, has promised to implement a "sea change" in US policy towards China if she were to win the presidency in 2024.
“Communist China is the greatest threat to American security and prosperity by far,” Haley declared during her speech at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, DC. She also criticised Trump’s friendliness toward China’s President Xi Jinping, whom the former president has spoken of in fond terms.
“In his zeal to befriend President Xi, Trump congratulated the Communist Party on its 70th anniversary of conquering China. That sent the wrong message to the world. Chinese Communism must be condemned, never congratulated,” Haley said.
Haley has served for two years as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“As president, my top priority will be strengthening America’s economy and America’s military,” she said. “We will protect America’s prosperity and homeland from Chinese aggression.” Haley warned about China’s ever-growing “police state” and the Chinese military, which she said, “has become even stronger. We will tackle Chinese meddling in our society and its manipulation of our economy,” she said. “And we will hold the Communist Party accountable while putting it on the global defensive. This is a sea change in American policy. It’s grounded in the reality that our leaders have failed to admit.” Haley would restrict American universities, which are among the largest beneficiaries of Chinese cash, from receiving federal contracts if they work with China’s ruling Communist Party.