Indian-American Republican United States presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has described China as an “existential threat” to the US and the world. She added that Beijing is “preparing for war” at a significant economic policy speech delivered at a campaign town hall in Hampton in the crucial early primary state of New Hampshire on 21 September.
Hampton, thank you for spending your Thursday night with us!
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) September 22, 2023
We face an important choice in this primary: stick with the baggage of the past or fight for a strong and proud future. Let’s make history. pic.twitter.com/E3IteBqgKp
Haley proclaimed that the Chinese military was already on the same level as the US military in several areas after half a century of planning to overthrow the Western power. Her address came two days after that of her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy, another Indian-American who spoke on China’s foreign policy in Ohio. After former US President Donald Trump, both candidates are now two of the GOP’s (Grand Old Party) favourite candidates.
“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. The former two-term South Carolina asserted that manufacturing jobs in America had been grabbed by the communist country.
Haley voiced, “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. 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 politician further charged, “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, that 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 explained her economic strategy and emphasised that it entails providing middle-class Americans with genuine relief and financial independence. She mentioned that every middle-class family would receive a tax break worth thousands of dollars.
“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. 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,” noted the presidential candidate.
She highlighted, “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.” Nikki Haley stressed that she would lower income taxes for working families if she were to become president of the nation.
Haley remarked that the 500 billion dollars in green energy subsidies proposed by President Joe Biden would also be removed by her administration. “No more cash windfalls for China,” she announced. The former US ambassador to the United Nations conveyed that she would veto any budget plan that didn’t restore US expenditure to rates seen before the Covid scandal.
“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. 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,” Haley pledged during his address.
“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,” she observed.
