Let us try to make things clear for Walz.
It is true that as a high school teacher in southern China, the young Walz taught American culture and history as well as English in a program initiated by Harvard students during the momentous period of 1989-1990, making him one of the first American teachers in China.
02:07
Trump supporters criticize US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz over China ties
Trump supporters criticize US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz over China ties
As a football coach at Mankato West High School in Minnesota, Walz led his team from a bunch of losers to state champions in 1999. In China, Walz’s young students at Foshan No. 1 High School nicknamed him the “Fields of China” because of his friendliness.
Although Walz is friendly with the Chinese people, he is no fan of the Chinese Communist Party and has criticized the government. From 2007 to 2018, he was a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors legal and human rights developments in China, and was described by the chairman as a “steadfast” member. He has frequently criticized China’s human rights record – his photo with the Dalai Lama is well known.
If Harris and Walz can win the Nov. 5 election – widely seen as a neck-and-neck race – it would be a net gain for U.S.-China relations, given Walz’s genuine affection for China and its people. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, said of Walz’s knowledge of China, “So he knows a lot about it. That’s great.” If Harris wins, Walz would be in a prime position to influence the policies of an administration whose leader lacks foreign policy experience, particularly on China.
02:06
Kamala Harris, a trailblazer with an eye on America’s highest glass ceiling
Kamala Harris, a trailblazer with an eye on America’s highest glass ceiling
Knowledge is power, and this also applies to personal experience. Walz seems to be the perfect realpolitiker, able to build bridges and be open in private negotiations while displaying pragmatism in public – because he “understands” China because he has lived there and is familiar with Chinese culture, language and people.
More than 70 years ago, China’s first premier, Zhou Enlai, presciently proposed a model of diplomacy he called “people’s diplomacy.” Today, such a concept is more commonly known as people-to-people networking, a key element of a country’s soft power, its ability to influence the preferences of others by using a toolkit that includes culture, foreign policy and tourism – as opposed to hard power, which involves the use of force and coercion.
While an abrupt reset of US-China relations – even under a Harris-Waltz administration – would be too much to ask, we can at least hope for an initial modus vivendi in which both countries achieve a coexistence that enables them to address their shared existential challenges.
Only by building a global community of shared destiny and through cooperation – whether bilaterally or in international, regional and multilateral groupings – can we prevent a certain extinction.
Unlike the Republican team Trump-Vance, which I consider to be false prophets of doom, I am convinced that a Harris-Walz administration has the potential to slow the downward spiral in US-China relations and to engage where possible and necessary – starting January 20, 2025 at 12:00 noon.
Dr. Harvey Dzodin is a senior fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation, a former policy official in the Carter administration, and vice president of ABC-TV.
