Is Tim Walz ‘committed’ to China? Republicans investigating his 30-plus trips to the communist country
Republicans are concerned about Tim Walz’s affinity for China and his “longstanding ties” to the communist country and its leaders.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) expressed concern that Walz may be “susceptible” to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party, to the “detriment” of Americans.
He describes the intimate relationship between the Minnesota governor and the hostile nation, emphasizing that the former schoolteacher made an estimated 30 trips to the country, including many excursions organized by him and his wife.
Now Comer is demanding that the FBI hand over documents it may have about Walz’s communications with Chinese agencies and officials, to investigate how close the potential vice president’s ties are to the communist country.
A newspaper clipping from the January 9, 1994 Star-Herald highlights a story about Walz’s trip to China for his honeymoon with his wife Gwen
“Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, has had a longstanding relationship with China,” Comer wrote in a statement.
“The American people deserve to fully understand how close Governor Walz’s relationship with China is.”
Comer wrote to Wray: “It has come to the attention of the Committee that Governor Walz has long-standing ties to agencies and officials associated with the CCP. This makes him susceptible to the Party’s strategy of capturing the elite. This strategy is to co-opt influential figures in the political, cultural, and academic elites to influence the United States in favor of the Communist regime and to the detriment of Americans.”
“The reports of Governor Walz’s extensive involvement with CCP officials and entities during his public tenure raise questions about potential CCP influence on his decision-making as governor—and, if elected, as vice president.”
Tim Walz’s first trip to China was reported in his local newspaper
Tim Walz in an undated photo from the Mankato West High School Alumni for Walz Facebook Group. Walz is seen here on a school trip
In the letter, the Kentucky Republican wrote that when the governor was still a teacher, he set up a company called Educational Travel Adventures, Inc. to take students to China.
The group was run by Walz and his wife Gwen and organized tours from 1994 until its dissolution in 2007, Comer said.
In addition to the excursions, the Walzs even spent their honeymoon in China, just five years after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The Democrat called his experiences during his visit to the country “wonderful” dozens of times.
His admiration for the country has led Donald Trump and Republicans to attack him as the US and China enter a period of increasing economic and military rivalry.
Walz has described his numerous trips to China as “wonderful” and has said he does not believe the country is an “adversary” to the US.
Walz, who speaks some Mandarin, recently said he did not accept that China should be an “adversary.”
He said, ‘I’ve lived in China and, as I said, I’ve been there about 30 times. If someone tells you they’re an expert on China, they’re probably not telling you the truth, because it’s a complex country.’
“But it is of crucial importance to us. I am not in the category that China necessarily has to have an adversarial relationship, I absolutely disagree with that.”
Responding to Walz’s choice, Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (Republican of Ohio), accused him earlier this month in Philadelphia of planning to move jobs to China.
Vance said, “Tim Walz is a guy who wants to move more and more American manufacturing jobs to China.”
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, criticized Walz for sending jobs to China
“He said it on camera in the name of the green energy scam. If you care about the environment, and I certainly do, why are you moving American manufacturing jobs to the dirtiest economy in the world? Why not keep them here, in Pennsylvania, where they’re really needed?”
“To have a guy who wants to move manufacturing jobs to China? There’s no way Americans are going to believe that. It just doesn’t make sense.”