Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley blasted Communist China for the tons of fentanyl pouring into the U.S., and Beijing is not happy.
Her proposals included revoking China’s permanent normal trade relations with the U.S. until the drug pipeline is closed down. The plan to confront China on multiple fronts was revealed at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. spokesman Liu Pengyu took exception to this stand in a statement to Reuters. “Pushing American companies to leave China runs counter to economic laws, and will ultimately harm everyone’s interests.”
On Tuesday, Haley stated “if we rally now, the Chinese Communist Party will eventually end up on the ash heap of history.” This drew mockery from Liu.
The diplomat responded, “Only those who draw attention by smearing and blame-shifting in the election campaign will end up on the ash heap of history.”
Communist China has infiltrated our education system and our economy. They're on our doorstep in Cuba.
Xi Jinping is not our friend. Let's stop acting like it. pic.twitter.com/1g0WJQ2fH7
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) June 28, 2023
Haley then tweeted on Wednesday that if Beijing’s communists “stopped sending fentanyl across our border, robbing our businesses, spying on us, and militarily threatening our friends, then we would have a much better relationship.”
The former U.N. ambassador under the Trump administration made clear what may well be the most hawkish position on China this week among the 2024 GOP hopefuls.
The synthetic opioid fentanyl is blamed for nearly 80,000 American deaths in 2022, according to preliminary numbers from Washington. And China plays a major role in its production.
The communist nation produces most of the precursor chemicals before they are shipped to Mexican drug cartels. There they are manufactured into the drug that is ultimately smuggled across Biden’s open border into the U.S.
With deadly results.
U.S. officials say China is far from cooperative in aiding the crackdown on fentanyl precursors or the money laundering operations that go hand-in-hand with the drug trade.
For its part, Beijing blasts Washington for what it claims are simply pretexts for imposing sanctions. Through state-sanctioned media, Chinese communists say the drug and addiction crisis is a U.S. domestic issue that must be handled at home.
Haley is struggling to gain traction in the Republican field for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released early in June showed the former South Carolina governor drawing just 3% of support from likely GOP primary voters.
