Earlier this month, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz participated in a seminar with a progressive political think tank where he suggested that China was better positioned to solve a war between Israel and Iran than the United States.
Serving as a guest on an interview series for the Center for American Progress, Walz spoke about a number of issues surrounding how the Democratic Party and progressives can “find a path forward” following their loss in the 2024 election.
During that discussion, which took place on June 13, Walz took time to talk about the then-escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Walz expressed concern about the situation but quickly pivoted to opining on Israel’s response to the October 2023 Hamas attack, saying “the situation in Gaza is intolerable.”
After saying he was proud of his vote for the Obama-supported Iran nuclear deal in 2015, Walz described the Middle East as “back on fire in a way that is now expanded.” That led to his comments suggesting that China may be the nation best positioned to solve crises in the Middle East.
“And now who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this?” asked Walz. “Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because [the United States is] not seen as a neutral actor. And we maybe never were — I don’t want to tell anybody that.”
The Minnesota governor went on to opine that America used to try to be the arbitrator in Middle East conflicts and had been successful in the past, but now he is asking who that neutral arbitrator is.
“I mean, consistently over and over again we’re gonna have to face the reality, it might be the Chinese,” said Walz. “And that goes against everything they say they’re trying to do in terms of the balance of power.”
.@GovTimWalz on Israel's preemptive strikes: "Iran has to retaliate in their mind I'm sure and now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some kind type agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority…we are not seen as a natural actor…it might be the Chinese…" pic.twitter.com/pi4tpnc4lD
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 13, 2025
Since then, foreign policy experts have lambasted the Minnesota governor’s appraisal of China’s “moral authority” on Fox News.
“I don’t know how anybody could have said what [Walz] said about the role that China plays,” said Danielle Pletka, a senior foreign policy and defense fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). “The idea that there is some neutral interlocutor in this world, that anybody is an ‘honest burger’ is nothing other than grad school silliness.”
Regarding the idea that China could be a neutral arbiter, Pletka said, “Of course, China can’t play that role. China is an authoritarian communist [state] that is supporting Russia in its war on Ukraine, that is threatening Taiwan, that has broken its word over Hong Kong.”
Another foreign policy expert, Andy Keiser, told Fox News that the two-term governor should be reminded “that China is far from a moral authority on much of anything” and the country is engaging in “cultural genocide.” Keiser is a former congressional staffer and fellow at the National Security Institute.
Walz, for his part, has had ties to China for decades. Alpha News has reported extensively on the governor’s connections to the communist regime which include regular trips to the country, serving as a visiting fellow at a Chinese state-run university, and spending his honeymoon in the country.
According to the governor’s wife, Walz even selected June 4 as the couple’s wedding day because it was the same day of the Tiananmen Square massacre and Walz wanted a date he would remember.
Many of these ties were discussed by Tucker Carlson and Alpha News reporter Liz Collin during a recent interview.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
