Tim Walz's deep links to China: Kamala's VP pick taught and went on honeymoon in the country... and oversaw a scholarship program funded by Beijing

Tim Walz, Kamala Harris' running mate, has a deep affection for China after being one of the first government-sanctioned Americans to teach in the country.

Walz, 60, went to China straight after college through a program set up by Harvard University and taught in Guangdong province, shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989.

He would later honeymoon in China with his wife Gwen, bringing a group of 60 young people with them

In the 1990s the couple set up a business which took high school students to China every summer for around a decade.

Walz has been to China dozens of times, including on trade missions, and has called his experiences there 'amazing'.

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.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz before Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on March 14, 2024, in St. Paul, Minnesota

Tim Walz's first trip to China reported in his local newspaper

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 J.D. Vance, speaking in Philadelphia, 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.

'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.' 

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

Following his first trip to China, teaching at Foshan Number One High School, Walz told his local newspaper, the Alliance Star-Herald in Nebraska: 'No matter how long I live I'll never be treated that well again. They gave me more gifts than I could bring home. It was an excellent experience.'

He said 'China was coming, and that’s the reason that I went,' and expressed his admiration for how hard his Chinese students at Foshan No. 1 High School worked.

He said: 'If they had the proper leadership there are no limits on what they could accomplish. They are such kind, generous, capable people. They just gave and gave and gave to me. Going there was one of the best things I have ever done.'

As a teacher back in the United States, Walz had a Chinese banner in his office.  

Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate

A report from Tim Walz's local newspaper abut his trips to China

According to a report in the Alliance Times-Herald in 1993, while students raised money for that summer's trip to the country, Chinese authorities paid 'a large part of the cost'.

Walz reportedly told the students to 'downplay their American-ness' on the trip.

A Chinese university was reportedly helping with expenses for food, rooms and transportation.

The following year seven students reportedly received $800 'scholarships' to help with the cost.

The scholarships were sponsored by Walz, his wife, and 'the Chinese government'.

According to a report in Nebraska's Alliance Times-Herald in 1993, while students raised money for that summer's trip, Chinese authorities paid 'a large part of the cost'

Walz told students to 'downplay their American-ness'

A Chinese university was reportedly helping with expenses for food, rooms and transportation

J.D. Vance accused Walz of wanting to send U.S. jobs to China

The following year seven students reportedly received $800 'scholarships' to help with the cost.

The scholarships were sponsored by Walz, his wife, and 'the Chinese government'.

Michael Sobolik, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, said it was 'notable' that 'the Chinese government funded Tim Walz’s student exchange trips to China in the 90s.

'By Walz’s own admission, it was unusual that the government “paid a large part of the cost”.'