Is Tim Walz 'devoted' to China? Republicans scrutinize his over 30 trips to the communist country
Republicans are worried over Tim Walz's affinity for China and his 'longstanding connections' to the communist nation and its leaders.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray Friday, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., expressed his concern over Walz being 'susceptible' to the Chinese Communist Party's influence to the 'detriment' of Americans.
He describes a cozy relationship between the Minnesota governor and the hostile nation, highlighting that the former school teacher has taken an estimated 30 trips to the country - including many field trips he and his wife organized.
Now Comer is demanding the FBI turn over documents it may have on Walz's communications with Chinese entities and officials to investigate how deeply the ties between the potential vice president and the communist-run country are.
Star-Herald newspaper clipping dating January 9, 1994 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’s vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China,' Comer wrote in a statement.
'The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walz’s relationship with China goes.'
Writing to Wray, Comer said: 'It has come to the Committee’s attention that Governor Walz has longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible to the Party’s strategy of elite capture, which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural, and academic circles to influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.'
'Reporting about Governor Walz’s extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office raises questions about possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor—and, should he be elected, as vice president.'
Tim Walz's first trip to China 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 class trip
In the letter, the Kentucky Republican notes how when the governor was a school teacher he founded a company called 'Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,' to bring students to China.
The group was run by Walz and his wife Gwen and facilitated trips from 1994 until it was dissolved in 2007, Comer notes.
In addition to the field trips, the Walzs even had their honeymoon in China, just five years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The Democrat has called his experiences visiting the country dozens of times 'amazing.'
And his admiration for the country opens the door for him to be attacked by Donald Trump and Republicans as the U.S, and China enter a period of increasing economic and military rivalry.
Walz has described his myriad trips to China as 'amazing' and has said he does not believe the country to be an 'adversary' of the U.S.
Walz, who speaks some Mandarin, said recently he did not accept that China had to be an 'adversary.'
He said: 'I've lived in China and, as I've said, I've been there about 30 times. If anyone tells you they're an expert on China they're probably not telling you the truth because it's a complex country.'
'But it's critically important for us. I don't fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship, I totally disagree.'
Responding to Walz's selection Donald Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaking in Philadelphia earlier this month, accused him of planning to send jobs to China.
Vance said: 'Tim Walz is a guy who wants to shift more and more American manufacturing jobs to China.'
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump's vice presidential pick slammed 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 going to ship American manufacturing jobs to the dirtiest economy in the world? Why wouldn't you keep them right here, in Pennsylvania, the places that really need it?'
'To have a guy who wants to ship manufacturing jobs to China? There is no way the American people are going to buy it. It just doesn't make sense.'
