EXCLUSIVE: Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley vowed Friday that China won't "threaten or intimidate" American businesses if she is elected to the White House in 2024.
Speaking with Fox News Digital at a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa, Haley also warned that companies doing business with China need to have a "plan B" should the communist nation unexpectedly pull "the rug out from under them."
"I will go and do what I have always done, which is remind every company that they need to be very cautious about China and should look and say if China pulled the rug out from under them today, would they be ready? We all need a plan B," Haley said when asked if she agreed with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's receptiveness to doing business in China.
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Haley met with Fink at the Iowa stop, in addition to other financial executives at events throughout the day, as she continues to try and build support in her bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
She told Fox that her "plan B" as president was "going to be a national security plan so that we don't let China threaten or intimidate or do anything against America."
"I'll also partner with my businesses and let them know the threats of China as well. The goal is let's start doing business with our friends and let's not get threatened or hurt by our enemies," Haley said.
Fink and BlackRock have faced a wave of criticism over the company's past acceptance of environment, social and governance (ESG) investment criteria, which has become a target for conservatives pushing back on what they see as companies implementing a far-left, progressive agenda.
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When asked if she was concerned about such policies and whether she raised the subject during her meeting with Fink, Haley avoided directly answering the question.
"Again, I'll do what I did in South Carolina. I partnered with my businesses. I use them as a resource. One, they hire people that we need to hire. They help us with our economy," she said. "But I also shared in South Carolina with my businesses the threats, the issues, the keys that we needed. It's about having communication."
"You want your businesses to be successful, but we also want to focus on the national security of our country. And we want to make sure that we get America back on track," she added. "What they talk about is the debt, inflation, what are we going to do to balance our budget and get things back on track? And I appreciate that. So we all agree on that."
