Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped a bombshell on Friday, proposing that China—yes, China—might be the global voice of "moral authority" needed to calm the raging conflict between Israel and Iran.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress in Washington, the NY Post reported, Walz floated this eyebrow-raising idea amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Israel’s airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities triggered Iran’s retaliation with 150 missiles.
Let’s rewind to the root of this mess: Israel targeted Tehran’s nuclear sites, taking out 20 senior Iranian military officials and six scientists tied to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran, predictably, hit back hard, launching a barrage of 150 missiles aimed at Israel, though the Iron Dome defense system intercepted many over Tel Aviv on June 14, 2025.
“Iran has to retaliate, in their mind, I’m sure,” Walz mused, as if stating the obvious while ignoring the deeper question of why this cycle of violence persists.
Here’s the kicker—Walz’s solution isn’t more American leadership or UN intervention; it’s China stepping in as some kind of ethical arbiter, a notion that might make even the most optimistic diplomat choke on their coffee.
“Who holds the moral authority?” Walz asked, before suggesting, “It might be the Chinese,” as if Beijing’s track record inspires universal trust.
Let’s unpack that: China, whose human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim population have been widely documented by government watchdogs and international organizations, is hardly a beacon of virtue.
This isn’t just a policy misstep; it’s a head-scratcher, especially given Walz’s history of cozy comments about China’s economic system, like when he praised their equality in pay and resource-sharing back in 1991 to a Nebraska newspaper.
“Everyone is the same,” Walz reportedly said then, describing a system where doctors and construction workers earn identical wages and receive government housing—a vision far removed from American values of individual effort.
Walz’s ties to China run deeper, from teaching English there to briefly dating a Communist Party official’s daughter before entering politics, not to mention choosing the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre for his wedding date to “have a date he’ll always remember,” as his wife Gwen noted in a report.
These anecdotes aren’t just quirky trivia; they frame a pattern of questionable judgment, especially when paired with past criticism of inaccuracies about his China visits and a whistleblower report flagging him as a target for Communist Party influence operations.
Back to the present, Walz’s comments at CAP—where he was hosted as a former VP candidate to brainstorm geopolitical strategies—also touched on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which he supported during his time in Congress, only for it to unravel when the U.S. withdrew in 2018.
With UN investigators recently censuring Iran for violating non-proliferation agreements, and European allies like France, Germany, and the UK stepping in with formal rebukes, the idea of China as a neutral mediator feels like a fantasy detached from the messy reality of global power plays—especially when U.S. intelligence points to Beijing’s coordination with Moscow and Tehran to sow discord here at home.