Tim Walz says China now has ‘moral authority’ to broker Middle East peace

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said China might be the only voice of “moral authority” when it comes to making peace in the Middle East.

Mr. Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, was answering a question about his thoughts on the “escalatory” nature of the recent Israeli strikes on Iran during an event Friday hosted by the Center for American Progress.

He said the Middle East is “back on fire in a way that has now expanded,” and he said Iran feels it has to retaliate against the Israeli strikes.

“Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor, and we maybe never were,” Mr. Walz said.

He identified the next moral authority by saying, “consistently, over and over again, it might be the Chinese.”

He didn’t elaborate why he thought the Chinese were the ones to have the moral authority.

Mr. Walz has a history of close ties with China.

As an educator, he spent time teaching in China and even brought his high school social studies students there for trips, some of which were paid for by the Chinese government.

He said he has made roughly 30 visits to China, but his campaign has said the number is “closer to 15.”

As the vice presidential candidate, Mr. Walz made misleading claims that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre. He eventually said he “misspoke” and called himself a “knucklehead” during his debate with Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance.

House lawmakers subpoenaed the Homeland Security Department in September over whistleblower allegations that Mr. Walz had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr. Walz argued during his speech Friday that now the U.S. is going “to have to face the reality” that China is the next arbitrator.