Global impact | Harris-Walz in spotlight over China ties as Democrats rubber-stamps ticket

In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at the race for the White House, and what impact relations with China could have

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The end of the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Centre in Chicago. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:00pm, 26 Aug 2024

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International affairs occupy a relatively low ranking when it comes to concerns of American voters, especially when the current election cycle has been marked by bloodshed and other intrigue largely unrelated to foreign policy.

When US presidential candidate Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz, the governor of the upper midwest state of Minnesota, to be her running mate, details about his teaching gigs in China emerged shortly thereafter. But the fact that he spent numerous stints in the country did not seem to weigh down the new ticket.

Republicans immediately seized on Walz’s China teaching experience - and the student-exchange programme he and his wife managed - in a bid to tarnish Walz right out of the gate, but within a week, the Democratic ticket had erased the polling gap that opened up after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance a month earlier.

This doesn’t mean that the China factor is out of play for the Harris-Walz ticket. At the moment, Republicans are hammering Walz for his progressive policies as governor and the timing of his departure from the US military. His opponents in Congress have set some traps related to Walz’s China experience.

We’ll come back to that. Let’s first review the fast-paced drama that has so far defined the 2024 general election.

01:55

Kamala Harris confirmed as Democratic presidential nominee after ceremonial roll-call

The now-infamous debate that marked the start of the tumult, when the two candidates threw familiar attack lines about China at each other, was less than two months ago.