- Nikki Haley addressed global security at the 47G Summit in Salt Lake City.
- She emphasized holding Russia accountable and the implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict for China and Taiwan.
- Haley advocated for U.S. reshoring, building out energy infrastructure and reducing Chinese influence.
SALT LAKE CITY — 47G on Tuesday kicked off its second annual Zero Gravity Summit in downtown Salt Lake City with a day full of aerospace, defense, energy and technology leaders taking the stage to discuss the latest trends and happenings.
But the most noteworthy part of Tuesday's lineup was likely a keynote speech from Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina.
During her visit to the Beehive State, Haley talked to summitgoers about America's role in global security, defending U.S. interests and keeping the country safe.
Here's what she had to say.
Russia, Ukraine and China
Unsurprisingly, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine — and how it relates to China — was something Haley emphasized as being of the utmost importance in terms of national and global security.
Specifically, she spoke of the need to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable.
"I know that the Pentagon approved tomahawks to Ukraine. President (Donald) Trump hasn't approved those yet. We need to make sure that they are allowed to use U.S. weapons. If they have them, they should be able to use them. I know the Europeans provided them long-range missiles, and that's been helpful to them, but what they really need is to be able to use what they have and finish the job," Haley said.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, Haley said, is also being closely watched by Chinese President Xi Jinping, especially when thinking about how it mirrors China potentially taking military action against Taiwan.
During a recent meeting between Xi and Trump, Trump said Xi assured him that Beijing would take no action toward its long-stated goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China while the Republican leader is in office.
"He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, 'We would never do anything while President Trump is president,' because they know the consequences," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday.
This potential action underscores the importance of Ukraine, as Haley said, to "finish the job."
"If Ukraine stands strong, China is watching that. China sees Ukraine the same way it sees Taiwan. So they watched every company that left Russia. They watched every country that supported Ukraine. They've taken notes of all of this as they look at what's going to happen with Taiwan," Haley said.
She added that Taiwan has already cut business and investments with China by 97%, which she called "remarkable."
Reindustrialization and energy
Another key aspect of national security, Haley said, is bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.
"Reshoring ... it's our patriotic duty. It really is," Haley said.
Specifically, Haley said the U.S. should focus on loosening China's hold on rare earth minerals and prioritize chip production and building a strong energy infrastructure.
As far as Utah's role in that, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, in October, spoke about the state's mining potential at the International Mining and Resource Conference hosted in Sydney, Australia.
In 2022, Texas Instruments opened a multibillion-dollar microchip plant in Lehi.
As important as it is to bring manufacturing and energy production back to the U.S., Haley said it's also about keeping Chinese and other adversarial influences out.
"It's as much keeping any sort of Chinese research, innovation, anything out, as it is what we bring in. And that includes we have to start cracking down on the theft of IP technology that they continue to do, and we need to hold them accountable when they do," Haley said.
When it comes to energy, Haley talked about how conversations around AI, chip production and data centers don't matter "if we don't have the electrical production to support it."
She pointed to the fact that 70% of transmission lines are over 25 years old and approaching the end of their typical 50- to 80-year lifespan — a sign that the U.S. has to start doing things differently.
"What you don't want is a data center to show up and you don't have the power to support it. And I think right now, we are in a time where we could be really smart about this," Haley said.
She added that she sees nuclear production and the private sector as being "hugely important" in modernizing and strengthening the power grid.
"That's the way we have to look at it. The private sector can do this faster, they can do it cheaper (and) they can do it better. And so when you look at these SMRs (small modular reactors) that we can bring in — hugely important. I think it's going to be the ticket to a lot of the answers that we need. And I think we need to make sure that every state is paying attention to this, and I think we need to make sure that the entire country is paying attention to this," Haley said.
