China an existential threat to US: Nikki Haley

PTI

Washington, September 23

Describing China as an "existential threat" to the US and the world, Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley has claimed Beijing is "preparing for war".

China has spent half a century plotting to defeat America and in some respects, the Chinese military is already at par with the US armed forces, Haley said in a major policy speech on the economy in the key early primary State of New Hampshire on Friday.

Her 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 as 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.

"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," the former two-term South Carolina governor said.

"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.

"Make no mistake: The Communist Party is preparing for war. And China's leaders intend to win," she claimed.

Sharing her economic plan, Haley said it includes giving real relief and financial freedom to middle-class Americans. Every middle-class family will get thousands of dollars in tax relief, she said.

"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.

If elected president of the country, Haley said, she would also cut income taxes for working families.

She said her administration would also eliminate President Joe Biden's USD 500 billion in green energy subsidies. "No more cash windfalls for China," she said.

The former US ambassador to the UN said she would veto any spending bill that doesn't take the US back to pre-Covid spending levels.

"We're not talking about 1950s spending levels, we're talking about just four years ago. We had a massive – and in many ways a foolish – explosion in spending during the pandemic. But the pandemic is over. It's absurd to keep spending at those same crazy levels," she said.

"Under my plan, we won't just have term limits for politicians, we will limit bureaucrats too. No bureaucrat should hold the same position for more than five years.

"This will make them better public servants and avoid the politics and power fiefdoms that corrupt our government. And we should be able to fire those who are not performing. Public service is a privilege, not a right. And no one has a right to roll back your freedom," Haley said.

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