Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley has described China as an “existential threat” to the United States and the world while further claiming that Beijing is “preparing for war”.
Haley said that China has spent several decades plotting to defeat America and the Chinese military is already at par with the US armed forces in some respects.
She made the remarks in a major policy speech on the economy in the key early primary State of New Hampshire on Friday (September 22).
Haley’s speech comes two days after her India-American Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy delivered a foreign policy speech on China in Ohio. Both Haley and Ramaswamy have emerged to be popular GOP candidates after former US president Donald Trump.
"Strength and pride are essential to our national survival, especially in the face of Communist China. China is an existential threat. It has spent half a century plotting to defeat us," Haley said.
She alleged that China has taken America’s manufacturing jobs and claimed that the country has taken US’ “trade secrets”.
"It's taken our trade secrets. Now it's taking control of critical industries, from medicines to advanced technology. In record time, China has gone from an economically backward country to the second biggest economy on earth," she said.
"It has every intention of being the first. And the Communist Party's motives are clear. They're building a massive, cutting-edge military, capable of threatening America and dominating Asia and beyond. In some respects, China's military is already equal to the US armed forces. In other areas, they're beating us. China's leaders are so confident, they're sending spy balloons into our skies and building a spy base just off our shores in Cuba," Haley said.
"Communist Party is preparing for war"
"Make no mistake: The Communist Party is preparing for war. And China's leaders intend to win," she claimed.
Haley shared her economic plan and said that it includes giving real relief and financial freedom to middle-class Americans.
Every middle-class family will get thousands of dollars in tax relief. No one knows how to use your money better than you, no one. When you make your own choices, you make our economy even stronger, she said.
"For starters, we'll completely eliminate the federal gas and diesel tax. That is 18 cents per gallon in savings on gas and 24 cents on diesel. That will help families struggling with record-high gas prices. And we don't need a federal gas tax to fund our roads. We'll keep building our roads with the trillions Washington still has and we'll stop diverting money to green giveaways. Road money should build roads, not bike paths and hiking trails," she added.
(With PTI inputs)
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