His interest in the country has also extended to policy-making, with Walz cosponsoring numerous pieces of legislation in the US House, including the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2017
Walz also cosponsored numerous resolutions, including those condemning China’s censorship of the killings in Tiananmen Square in 1989 | Photo: Bloomberg
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has connections to China dating back decades that could help inform a potential Kamala Harris administration’s approach to Beijing, but may also spell trouble with leaders in Beijing and Republicans back home.
Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The little-known Minnesota governor taught English in China’s southern Guangdong province in 1989 and 1990, making him the first person on a presidential 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 local 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 Gwen telling a local newspaper “he wanted to have a date he’ll always remember.” He’s also posted on social media that he had a “life-changing” lunch with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader exiled by China.
His interest in the country has also extended to policy-making, with Walz cosponsoring numerous pieces of legislation in the US House, including the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2017.
