Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley feud expands as they battle over China

WASHINGTON — Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are escalating their battle with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, with an ad targeting China's acquisition of land in South Carolina during Haley's tenure.

"Nikki Haley - dangerous judgement," says the anti-Haley ad financed by Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis political action committee.

The allegations come as Haley and DeSantis are fighting for second place in critical early caucus and primary states, though both are far behind the front-running Donald Trump.

The pro-DeSantis spot focuses on the donation of 197 acres in South Carolina to China for construction of a fiberglass company. Some of its products could be put to military use, and the ad stressed that the plant is near a U.S. military training facility.

Haley, who served two terms as governor, said the agreement helped the economic development of her state. And on the campaign trail, Haley has repeatedly said she fought China's military aggression and unfair trade practices during her years as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

The DeSantis forces released the ad just days after a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed him tied with Haley for second place at 16% in Iowa. But both are well behind Trump, who clocked in at 43%.

The latest ad isn't the first time Haley and DeSantis have sparred over America's relationship with China. As Haley and DeSantis scramble to be the GOP runner up, the country has been a frequent flash point between the two White House hopefuls.

The Haley campaign has pointed out that China also bought land in Florida during DeSantis' tenure as governor. DeSantis has hit back, saying his state now bans the practice.

“Every governor running for president tried to recruit Chinese businesses to their state," Haley's campaign said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Nikki Haley did it ten years ago. DeSantis is aggressively recruiting Chinese companies now. The facts are clear. Ron DeSantis is lying about his record because he's losing. That's sad."

In an interview with Fox News Digital, DeSantis said: "Who do you trust to lead? Somebody that's actually stood up to China or somebody that rolled out the red carpet for China?"

The commercial, the subject of a $2.5 million ad buy, will air on broadcast stations in Iowa and New Hampshire starting Wednesday, as well as national cable outlets Fox, CNN and Newsmax.