White House hopeful Nikki Haley speaks during a presidential campaign stop at the South Carolina State House, Oct. 30, 2023, in Columbia, S.C.In her February 2024 announcement kicking off her presidential campaign, Nikki Haley issued a forceful condemnation of China, characterizing it as the "strongest and most disciplined enemy" ever faced by the United States.
"It's a great day in South Carolina. I am so sorry I'm not there with you in person to celebrate what is a fantastic announcement by the Jushi Group," Haley said in a 2016 video message obtained by ABC News that was played at a signing ceremony in Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province, to celebrate a deal bringing a manufacturing plant owned by China Jushi, a partially state-owned fiberglass company, to South Carolina's Richland County.
White House hopeful Nikki Haley speaks during a presidential campaign stop at the South Carolina State House, Oct. 30, 2023, in Columbia, S.C."It reminds us of what this energy feels like ... that we need to focus on that again," Haley said in 2012. "Don't believe what you read on the internet," Haley replied. "We didn't sell any land to the Chinese. But, yes, I recruited a fiberglass company."
At the time of the deal that brought the company to South Carolina, Haley called it "a huge win" for the state.After leaving the Trump administration at the end of 2018, and in the lead-up to launching her 2024 campaign earlier this year, Haley has taken a sharp turn regarding China and its influence.