‘China Is Preparing Its People for War’: Haley Singles Out CCP Threat

Republican presidential candidate, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, on June 27, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

China’s communist regime is preparing to bring war to Taiwan and the United States, according to presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Haley condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington on June 27. The regime, she said, is not a competitor of the United States but its most consequential enemy.

“China is much more than just a mere competitor,” Haley said. “Communist China is an enemy.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s endgame is clear: China is preparing its people for war.”

Haley’s comments follow statements by CCP leader Xi Jinping who said that China must prepare for “extreme” situations, a phrase many have interpreted as a euphemism for military conflict. Xi has also ordered the regime’s military wing to prepare for war and to be ready to start an invasion of democratic Taiwan by 2027.

The regime has also launched an aggressive campaign of military intimidation against Taiwan, the United States, and its allies, with a series of high-profile aerial and sea-based intercepts of their respective military forces.

“These provocations are not coincidences or accidents,” Haley said. “They are the purposeful actions of a communist dictatorship that is determined to expand its power and defeat America militarily and economically.

“America is China’s number one target. The question is: What are we going to do about it?”

Chinese soldiers march past Tiananmen Square before a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

US Trade Building CCP Military

Haley said the United States needs to confront China across every domain to deter a war over Taiwan, which the CCP claims is part of its territory.

“Taiwan is the [Chinese] Communist Party’s most immediate target,” Haley said. “If China invades, it will trigger the war that none of us want. We cannot let that happen.”

To that end, Haley said that the United States had contributed to this state of affairs for decades by continuing to do business with China.

Because the CCP adheres to a strategy of military-civil fusion, through which all civil entities are supposed to also serve a military purpose, it had been able to effectively use “American enterprise to undermine American strength,” Haley said.

“China treats our homeland like its personal playground,” she said.

“I specifically called out its military-civil fusion program [when I was ambassador], where the Chinese Communist Party exploits American companies to strengthen its military.”

Haley said the CCP had “abused” U.S. openness and a general willingness of the global liberal order to do business with China under the belief that economic contact would help China become more democratic.

Rather than heal China and end its authoritarianism, however, Haley said economic contact helped the CCP to diminish U.S. influence and now threatened to allow the regime to replace the United States.

Liberal economic theory, she said, “neglected the role of Chinese communist ideology.”

Haley pointed to the regime’s use of a spy balloon to target sensitive U.S. military sites in February, and its recently uncovered spy facility in Cuba, as evidence of the malign intent of the CCP.

“We all remember the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our homeland just months ago,” Haley said. “It wasn’t taking pictures of our prairies or our beaches. It was flying over American nuclear missile sites.

“We must act now to keep the peace and prevent war. We need a leader who will rally our people to meet this threat on every single front.”

Multiple Administrations Failed to Counter China

Haley, who also previously served as governor of South Carolina, said that both the Biden and Trump administrations had failed to take adequate measures to counter the threat posed by the CCP.

She condemned Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent trip to China as a “gold-plated invitation for more Chinese aggression,” saying the visit did not accomplish anything other than making China look more powerful on the international stage.

“I don’t mind that Secretary Blinken went to China,” Haley said. “We should always keep that communication going when we’re dealing with our enemies.

“It’s the way they’re doing it. They’re showing that America is running scared from China.”

To that end, Haley clarified that simply not appearing scared was insufficient to counter the threat.

As such, she also took a swing at former President Donald Trump, saying that his administration failed to expand its focus on China beyond the realm of trade.

The United States was in a weaker-than-necessary position because the Trump administration did not strengthen the U.S. military in Asia or work to stop technology transfers to China, or adequately rally allies in the region.

Moreover, Haley said Trump displayed “moral weakness” by congratulating Xi on the CCP’s 70th anniversary of conquering China.

“That sent a wrong message to the world,” Haley said. “Chinese communism must be condemned, never congratulated.”