Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing scrutiny from Republicans over what they say are pro-China remarks, including an interview in which the Democratic vice presidential nominee said he does not agree with the idea there needs to be an adversarial relationship with the communist government.
Walz worked briefly in China as a teacher, traveling to Guangdong in 1989 for a teach abroad program to teach English and American history. He later became a member of Congress and governor of Minnesota.
The Wall Street Journal, citing local media reports, reported that one trip to China doubled as his honeymoon in 1994, and he planned his wedding date to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
In an interview from 2016, Walz said he believed there was potential for a strong relationship between China and the U.S., although he also said China needed to play "by the rules" on human rights and the environment.
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"I've lived in China and, as I've said, I've been there about 30 times. ... I don't fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship. I totally disagree, and I think we need to stand firm on what they're doing in the South China Sea, but there's many areas of cooperation we can work on," he said in the interview with Agri-Pulse Communications.
In the interview, he noted he was on the congressional executive commission on China, a bipartisan commission that focuses on human rights.
Walz taught the same year as the Tiananmen Square crackdown by the communist regime against pro-democracy protesters. He later started a company to organize trips to China and, as he noted in his remarks, has visited the country dozens of times, conducting summer education trips to China. The New York Post reported that he said after his initial travel there, "No matter how long I live, I will never be treated that well again."
It’s brought criticism from some on the right who believe Walz is soft on the threat coming from the Chinese Communist Party.
Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said "communist China is very happy with [Walz] as Kamala’s VP pick."
"No one is more pro-China than Marxist Walz," Grenell said.
James Hutton, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Walz "doesn’t see China as a problem."
"This is a guy who will have to learn the truth of the vicious nature of the dictatorship in Beijing. Communist tyranny may not be a bad thing to Walz, but the rest of the world knows. Walz is dangerous."
"Tim Walz owes the American people an explanation about his unusual, 35-year relationship with Communist China," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said.
The Harris campaign and some Democrats have pushed back against that criticism.
"Throughout his career, Gov. Walz has stood up to the CCP, fought for human rights and democracy and always put American jobs and manufacturing first. Republicans are twisting basic facts and desperately lying to distract from the Trump-Vance agenda: praising dictators and sending American jobs to China," spokesperson James Singer said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will ensure we win the competition with China and will always stand up for our values and interests in the face of China’s threats."
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Others, including Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, noted that Walz criticized Beijing for cultural genocide in Tibet and Xinjiang in 2009, accompanied Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to Tibet and had met with the Dalai Lama. He has also co-sponsored resolutions on key human rights issues.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told the Post his selection is "an affirming signal that a Harris-Walz administration would continue to make human rights a key part of the United States’ relationship with China."
Meanwhile, on Chinese social media platform Weibo, opinions were split on what the Walz pick indicated.
"In 2014, he said in an interview with U.S. media that he ‘cares a lot about human rights and democracy in China.’ He was also a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. He has bad intentions," another said.
Fox News' Eryk Michael Smith contributed to this report.
