The truth behind the conspiracies about Tim Walz’s China ties

Tim Walz has been attacked from all angles by Republicans since being unveiled as Kamala Harris’s running mate to take on Donald Trump and JD Vance in November.

The mild-mannered Minnesota governor, 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, and former high school teacher, has been called everything from a “radical leftist” to “Tampon Tim” as the opposition scrambles to define him in the eyes of voters.

So far, little has stuck, prompting Trump’s allies to turn to Walz’s ties to China as an avenue of attack.

“This is a ticket that wants this country to go communist immediately if not sooner,” Trump told Fox and Friends in a phone interview in August.

On the campaign trail, Vance also accused Walz of wanting to “ship more manufacturing jobs to China”.

On social media, Richard Grenell, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, posted in response to Walz joining the Democratic ticket: “Communist China is very happy with Tim Walz as Kamala’s VP pick. No one is more pro-China than Marxist Walz.”

In China, local internet users have speculated that Walz was an undercover CIA agent responsible for stirring up the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, according to The Times. The outlandish claim appears to be premised solely on the fact that Walz happened to be in China at the time.

So what is the truth behind Walz’s links with China?

It’s true that Walz, aged 25 and a novice teacher, taught English and American history and culture in Foshan in southeastern Guangdong province between 1989 and 1990 as part of the WorldTeach program.

There is no evidence that he engaged in any political activity during his time there.

Yet, the trip clearly made an impression on him. The young educator told The Star Herald newspaper in 1990 that his stay