Kamala Harris’ VP Pick Tim Walz’s China Connection
On Tuesday, US presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
The 60-year-old was a history teacher and football coach before he began his political career, during which he presided over one of the most productive legislative periods in Minnesota’s history.
Over the course of his two terms as governor, he implemented a series of liberal/progressive legislature, was praised by former US president Barack Obama for bringing significant change, and he is currently widely popular throughout the state.
However, this isn’t why he has caught the attention of Chinese netizens – that is the result of China capturing his attention over 30 years ago.
The Democratic vice-presidential nominee speaks Mandarin and has visited the country around 30 times.
Image via Northwest Nebraska
Walz first traveled to China in 1989 to teach at Foshan No.1 high school in Guangdong for a year under a Harvard University program – a topic that is trending on Weibo with millions of views.
“China was coming, and that’s the reason that I went,” Walz explained to The Hill in 2007. He has often spoken fondly of his time the Middle Kingdom, and said that his Chinese students gave him the nickname ‘Fields of China’ in reference to the vastness of his kindness.Â
He also said they called him “big-nosed one” and “foreign devil,” which he fully acknowledged were not meant as insults, and cherishes the connections he made as a teacher.
When Walz returned to the US following the year-long visit, he told a local newspaper in his home state of Nebraska that there were “no limits” on what the Chinese people could accomplish “if they had proper leadership.”
Image via Star Herald
Mr. Walz described his decision to teach in China as “one of the best things I’ve ever done.” Five years later he honeymooned in China with his wife, and the couple started a business that organized summer educational trips to China for US students between 1994 and 2003.
From 2007 to 2018, Walz served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which monitors legal and human rights developments in China.
Although Walz has been openly critical of many of China’s policies, he has a great respect for Chinese culture, the people, and the potential for cooperation with the US.
Image via Ai
Harris and Walz’s election could mean better relations between the two countries, but opponents have still accused him of being a foreign agent.
Some allies of Trump have taken this connection to China as a reason to be suspicious of Walz, and a few have said Mr Walz’s nomination would benefit China.
Beijing, meanwhile, has not commented on the matter.
The 2024 US election will take place on November 5, and the result will have a significant effect on the country’s foreign policies.
How Walz’s time in and affection for China will affect these policies – let alone whether or not Harris and him will be elected – is still open to speculation.Â
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[Cover image via Ai]
