Walz's long history with China draws attacks and praise
Send a link to a friend
[August 08, 2024]
By Patricia Zengerle and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate,
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is drawing attention from U.S. Republicans -
and within China - for his long history with a country seen as
Washington's greatest economic and military rival.
Attacks from supporters of the Republican presidential candidate, former
President Donald Trump, started after Harris announced on Tuesday that
Walz - who taught in China after college and has traveled there many
times since - was her vice presidential pick.
"Communist China is very happy with @GovTimWalz as Kamala’s VP pick,"
Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany and acting national
intelligence director in the Trump administration, said on X.
The Harris-Walz campaign dismissed such criticism, noting Walz's record
of criticizing Beijing's human rights record. "Republicans are twisting
basic facts," James Singer, a campaign spokesperson, said. Singer said
Walz had long stood up to the Chinese Communist Party and "fought for
human rights and democracy, and always put American jobs and
manufacturing first."
Walz went to China to teach English and U.S. history in 1989, the year
of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square,
when he was a new college graduate. He and his wife later started a
company that organized trips to China for U.S. students. He has been to
China more than 30 times.
He speaks some Chinese, got married on June 4 - saying it was a date he
would not forget because it is the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary
- and honeymooned in China.
Unlike in the 1980s and 90s, when Walz began his travels, the desire for
a hard line on China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in
U.S. politics at a time of deep divides between Democrats and
Republicans.
While Walz has said the U.S.-China relationship doesn't need to be
adversarial, he worked on bills critical of Beijing's human rights
record during his 12 years in the House of Representatives and was a
member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses
on human rights.
U.S. vice presidents do not typically have a lot of say over foreign
policy, but they can influence a president's thinking about world
affairs.
DIFFERENT ERA
China specialist Dean Cheng said that Walz traveling to China as a
recent college graduate wasn't very significant, given that U.S. views
of China had evolved since Walz first went to China in 1989.
[to top of second column]
|
Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim
Walz, reacts during a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
U.S., August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
"What is more noteworthy, to my mind, have been more recent comments
by Governor Walz that he doesn't see China as necessarily an
adversary, and that he hopes there will be cooperation with them,"
said Cheng, a non-resident senior fellow with the Potomac Institute
for Policy Studies.
"It is harder and harder to see exactly where there is supposed to
be cooperation. Which Chinese goals overlap with ours? Which Chinese
behaviors are we prepared to countenance, since China is not in the
habit of making concessions?"
Some experts said his experience would be an asset in dealings with
Beijing.
"Walz has seen it all, understands the promise and peril of engaging
with China, and can provide valuable advice on China issues to
President Harris and her foreign policy team," said Jeff Moon, a
trade consultant and a former assistant U.S. trade representative
for China.
Harris made Walz her vice presidential pick on Tuesday in the
biggest political decision of her nascent White House bid, which has
energized her fellow Democrats after President Joe Biden's decision
to end his run for reelection.
In China, commentators on the popular Weibo social media platform
expressed doubts over whether Walz's history would influence U.S.
relations.
"The will of an individual is irrelevant in the face of the will of
the nation, whether he is pro-China or anti-China he has to be bound
by the national interests of the United States," one commentator
said.
Trump launched a trade war against China while in the White House,
and as a candidate this year, has suggested he would impose tariffs
of 60% or higher on Chinese goods.
His vice presidential choice, Senator JD Vance, has called China the
"biggest threat" facing the United States.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and David Brunnstrom; additional
reporting by Trevor Hunicutt in Washington, Ethan Wang and Bernard
Orr in Beijing, Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|