COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) 鈥 Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday criticized former President Donald Trump for being too friendly to China during his time in office, while also warning that weak support for Ukraine would 鈥渙nly encourage鈥 China to invade Taiwan.
Haley, a Republican presidential candidate running against Trump, said in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute that Trump was 鈥渁lmost singularly focused鈥 on the U.S.-China trade relationship but ultimately did 鈥渢oo little about the rest of the Chinese threat.鈥
Specifically, Haley noted that Trump failed to rally U.S. allies 鈥渁gainst the Chinese threat鈥 and that he had on the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China.
鈥淭hat sends a wrong message to the world,鈥 Haley said. 鈥淐hinese communism must be condemned, never congratulated.鈥
Haley鈥檚 comments, promoted by her presidential campaign as 鈥渁 major foreign policy speech,鈥 came a week and a half after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held in Beijing. Blinken said they had agreed to 鈥渟tabilize鈥 badly deteriorated U.S.-China ties, but there was little indication that either country was prepared to bend from positions on issues including , Taiwan, human rights conditions in China and Hong Kong, Chinese military assertiveness in , and .
Haley did note that Trump imposed tariffs and other trade restrictions on the superpower, saying he 鈥渄eserves credit for upending this bipartisan consensus.鈥 But she added, 鈥淏eing clear-eyed is just not enough.鈥
As Trump remains the clear front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, his rivals are increasingly lashing out at him. On , Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that, unlike Trump, he was 鈥渁ctually going to build the wall,鈥 a reference to Trump's 2016 signature issue that he fell short of meeting during his first term.
Haley, who served for two years as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, said President Joe Biden has been 鈥渕uch worse鈥 when it comes to dealing with threats she said China poses to America's economic, domestic and military security. She also said that shows that the nation is 鈥減reparing its people for war," a conflict she said would draw in the U.S. and other global partners if left unchecked.
鈥淲e must act now to keep the peace and prevent war,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd we need a leader that will rally our people to meet this threat on every single front. ... Communist China is an enemy. It is the most dangerous foreign threat we鈥檝e faced since the Second World War."
In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Haley was asked about comments earlier Tuesday from , a fellow Republican presidential candidate, who said, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 a Uygher?" in response to a question from radio show host Hugh Hewitt about the predominantly Muslim group that China has been accused of oppressing.
Haley, who didn't mention Suarez in her response, called the allegations of sexual abuse and religious discrimination against the Uyghurs a potential 鈥済enocide,鈥 adding, 鈥淭he fact that the whole world is ignoring it, is shameful.鈥
For his part, Suarez later tweeted that he is 鈥渨ell aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China鈥 but just 鈥渄idn鈥檛 recognize the pronunciation."
In her speech, Haley also called Biden 鈥渇ar too slow and weak in helping Ukraine,鈥 warning that a failure to send enough military equipment to help stem Russia鈥檚 invasion there could 鈥渙nly encourage China to invade Taiwan as soon as possible,鈥 leading to further international conflict.
鈥淭he events of this past weekend show how weak and shaky the Russian leadership is,鈥 Haley said, referencing the by mercenary soldiers who briefly took over a Russian military headquarters. 鈥淢ake no mistake: China is watching the war with Ukraine with great interest.鈥
Some of Haley's Republican rivals, including Trump and DeSantis, have faced criticism over their own comments toward Ukraine. Both Trump and DeSantis have said that defending Ukraine is not a national security priority for the U.S. DeSantis also had to walk back his characterization of as a 鈥渢erritorial dispute."
Last month, for Ukraine that totals up to $300 million and includes additional munitions for drones and an array of other weapons. In all, the U.S. has committed more than $37.6 billion in weapons and other equipment to Ukraine since Russia attacked on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at
