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Democratic vice-prez nominee Tim Walz has connections to China dating back decades that could help inform a potential Kamala Harris govt’s approach to Beijing, but may also spell trouble.
The little-known Minnesota governor taught English in China’s southern Guangdong province in 1989 and 1990, making him the first person on a prez ticket to have that kind of experience living in the country since George H.W. Bush, who served as US ambassador in Beijing in the 1970s. Walz has often spoken affectionately about China’s people. “If they had the proper leadership, there are no limits on what they could accomplish,” he told a newspaper after returning from China in 1990. “They are such kind, generous, capable people.” Walz got married on the fifth anniversary of the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square military crackdown, with his wife telling a local newspaper “he wanted to have adate he’ll always remember.”
With Walz appearing prominently on the national political scene for the first time on Tuesday, many on social media began poring over a long record of comments on China, some of them decades old. “I don’t fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adver sarial relationship,” Walz said in a video interview posted in 2016. His positions appear largely in sync with the Biden administration, which aims to compete with Beijing in military and economic spheres, and cooperate where possible on climate or narcotics trafficking.
Walz’s stance toward China —and his past meeting with the Dalai Lama — may open him to criticism from Beijing. But a Chinese official said Walz is unlikely to impact US policy as Americans are unified in their hardline views on China. In Beijing’s view, every candidate believes untrue and harmful things about China.
The little-known Minnesota governor taught English in China’s southern Guangdong province in 1989 and 1990, making him the first person on a prez ticket to have that kind of experience living in the country since George H.W. Bush, who served as US ambassador in Beijing in the 1970s. Walz has often spoken affectionately about China’s people. “If they had the proper leadership, there are no limits on what they could accomplish,” he told a newspaper after returning from China in 1990. “They are such kind, generous, capable people.” Walz got married on the fifth anniversary of the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square military crackdown, with his wife telling a local newspaper “he wanted to have adate he’ll always remember.”
With Walz appearing prominently on the national political scene for the first time on Tuesday, many on social media began poring over a long record of comments on China, some of them decades old. “I don’t fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adver sarial relationship,” Walz said in a video interview posted in 2016. His positions appear largely in sync with the Biden administration, which aims to compete with Beijing in military and economic spheres, and cooperate where possible on climate or narcotics trafficking.
Walz’s stance toward China —and his past meeting with the Dalai Lama — may open him to criticism from Beijing. But a Chinese official said Walz is unlikely to impact US policy as Americans are unified in their hardline views on China. In Beijing’s view, every candidate believes untrue and harmful things about China.
