In 2014, Nikki Haley, the then-governor of South Carolina and current Republican presidential candidate, referred to China as "a friend," expressing gratitude for the "strong relationship" between China and her state.
This revelation comes amidst Haley's recent campaign trail assertions that China is the "No. 1 biggest national security threat."
In a letter dated December 30, 2014, Haley thanked Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai for his congratulatory message on her re-election, expressing her gratitude for China's economic contributions. Tiankai, in his letter to Haley, had expressed his pleasure at the rapidly growing ties between China and South Carolina, looking forward to continued cooperation.
This correspondence has gained significance as Haley's popularity surges in the polls. Earlier this year, Haley, who also served as the U.N. ambassador under President Trump, unveiled a comprehensive strategy to counter China. On the campaign trail, she has emphasized her intent to revoke federal funding for universities accepting Chinese money, reclaim U.S.-owned land purchased by China, and terminate "all normal trade relations with" China until it ceases flooding the U.S. with fentanyl.
Responding to the revelation, Haley's campaign spokesperson, Ken Farnaso, told Fox News Digital, "Every governor in this campaign recruited Chinese businesses to their state." He added, "Nikki Haley did it 10 years ago. Just last year, Ron DeSantis let a U.S. sanctioned Chinese company expand its footprint in Florida. DeSantis even voted to fast-track Obamas bad trade deals. Nikki took on the Chinese threat every day as U.N. ambassador and has called for ending normal trade relations with China."
The threat from China to the United States has been escalating since at least 2010. In the same year as the Haley-Tiankai correspondence, the Justice Department indicted five Chinese military hackers for economic espionage against six American entities in the nuclear power, metals, and solar products industries.
In 2014, two significant security breaches by Chinese hackers into U.S. federal worker databases exposed sensitive information about at least 22.1 million people, as reported by the Washington Post. U.S. officials ranked these breaches "among the most potentially damaging cyber heists in U.S. government history because of the abundant detail in the files."
The issue of China has become a point of contention between Haley and fellow Republican presidential contender, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In an interview with Fox News Digital last week, DeSantis accused Haley of "rolling out the red carpet for China" during her tenure as South Carolina governor. Haley's campaign retorted, alleging that DeSantis has "aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida."
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