South Carolina’s Education Secretary partnered with a Chinese Communist Party group to send 20 students to a Beijing summer camp while Nikki Haley was governor

When Nikki Haley was governor of South Carolina in 2015, the state's Department of Education sent a group of 20 students to Beijing, China for a summer camp.

The head of the South Carolina Department of Education is not appointed or nominated by the governor but instead serves in an elective capacity.

This didn't stop Haley's competitors from jumping into the market latest reporting from Fox News.

“Nikki Haley has come up again because she is the Chinese Communist Party's favorite governor,” claims an email from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign.

After including an excerpt from the report, the email notes: “That reminds us of the time Nikki took a trip to Beijing to take notes from CCP leaders. No wonder she gets her censorship ideas from the government…'

“Nikki Haley is China's choice for president because she will work for them, just like she did when she was governor of South Carolina.” DeSantis national spokeswoman Carly Atchison said in a statement.

When Nikki Haley was governor of South Carolina, the Department of Education partnered with a Chinese program that sent 20 students to Beijing for a summer camp. Haley's campaign notes that South Carolina's superintendent of education is elected and not appointed or nominated by the governor

Haley is pictured with South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman

Haley is rising in recent polls and is ahead of the rest of the field — with the exception of Donald Trump — in New Hampshire. She also only follows the former president

Amid this explosion, DeSantis' campaign has increased Haley's connections to China, as all candidates ramp up the former United Nations ambassador's campaign.

“Ron DeSantis clearly doesn't know South Carolina because the head of the Department of Education is elected, not appointed, by the governor. DeSantis must be really desperate if he's trying to attack Nikki Haley over things she had no control over,” Haley campaign spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes told Fox when asked about the report.

“Poll after poll shows Nikki is the best challenger to Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she added. “Ron DeSantis is lying because he's losing.”

Haley's team also released an ad this week attacking DeSantis for being a “fake” and claiming he also has a poor track record on China.

Fox News reported Wednesday that the South Carolina Department of Education partnered with Beijing International Education Exchange (BIEE) in 2015 to send 20 high school students to China for a summer camp.

While the report directly links Haley to the program partnership in China, South Carolina governors are not directly linked to those who run state agencies because they hold elected positions – this includes the Department of Education.

A March 2015 memorandum on South Carolina's education website reads: “The International Division of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission is pleased to announce that invitations will be extended to 20 high school students from across South Carolina to attend this year's 5th Beijing International Student Summer Camp to attend. .'

“On behalf of BIEE, we invite all high schools in South Carolina to recommend twenty high school students, between the ages of 14 and 18, to participate in the program,” it added. 'The camp will take place from July 14 – 23, 2015 in Beijing.'

At the time of the statement, Molly Spearman was a few months into her elected term as South Carolina's superintendent of education.

It cost $2,200 for each student to participate in the program. They were accompanied by two supervisors.