The Indian American Republican leader, Nikki Haley, stated that the US President Donald Trump “sees China and a threat”. The former governor of Southern Carolina also assured that she would be working strenuously towards getting President Trump re-elected in the US Presidential elections, 2020.
Haley was addressing the concluding session of the two-day India Ideas Summit when she made this statement. She also stated that the security threat from China will be one of the determining factors in this year’s presidential elections. “I think you have President Trump who very much sees China as a threat”, she said.
She compared the approach towards China that Trump has with the on that the democratic candidate Joe Biden carries. “I think you have Joe Biden, who has said that China is not the problem and who was against the travel ban to China and who has not shown in any of his time that he was in Obama administration, as realizing the threat that China has”, she quoted in her address.
Responding to a question over the ties between India and United States, Haley gave an affirmative response. Haley said that while both countries have had lot of challenges, especially due to the pandemic, they also have had a plethora opportunities. “They are natural allies. India and United States are a lot of the same values, the same work ethic, the same family values. It’s important that we just continue to take that relationship forward”, stated Haley.
She also said that countries will start looking at India, “like they look at Vietnam”. She also assured that if India has the required potential, not only United States but other countries would also be interested to engage and invest in the country.
Apart from Haley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State, Mike Popeo also addressed the virtual summit.
