Chinese pundits like Walz pragmatism in US trade war

The China experience of Timothy Walz, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, may improve dialogues between China and the United States and bring pragmatism to their trade relations, according to some Chinese commentators.

Since Walz became Harris’ running mate on August 6, the 60-year-old Minnesota Governor has been attacked by the Republicans for his personal connections in China and his opposition in 2019 to then-President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Walz, who has been the governor of agriculture-heavy Minnesota since 2018, said in 2019 that Trump had to “start doing this job and end the trade war with China” as tariffs would hurt US farmers.

Some Western columnists have said Walz’s decades of China experience are an asset to the US, not a liability. And a Bloomberg article said Walz is a firm champion of human rights who has criticized Beijing’s record on Tibet and Hong Kong and co-sponsored resolutions condemning some of those violations.

A BBC commentary said Walz is more hawkish toward China than critics claim, noting that he

• co-sponsored a resolution in Congress marking the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre,
• supported the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and
• met the Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was asked by a foreign journalist on August 7 about Beijing’s view on Walz. She refused to comment on Walz, saying that “the US presidential election is the domestic affair of the US.”

“We hope the US will work with China in the same direction under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and work for the steady, sound and