In light of Scott Walker’s recent call for President Obama to cancel an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping, does it matter that back in 2012, Walker appeared on the Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV, wearing a pin with the U.S. and Chinese flags?
Our old friend Betsy Woodruff notes this over at the Daily Beast. For what it’s worth, in the interview, Walker largely ignored the host’s encouragement to tell presidential candidates to “tone it down” in their criticism of China, and steered back to talking up his home state as a good investment opportunity.
Walker can semi-plausibly argue that the hostility of the Chinese government is even clearer now, and that their hack of the OPM records represents an intolerable provocation that warrants withdrawing the invitation. Most people understand that when a governor goes on a “trade mission,” he’s there to tout his home state, generate interest among investors and maybe sell a few Harley Davidson motorcycle – not to negotiate U.S. foreign policy across the board. Some may dismiss the trips as taxpayer-funded photo-ops.
Having said that, Walker’s been pretty strongly pro-free-trade. (“95 percent of the ginseng exported to China comes from our state!”) His sudden lament that the Chinese “actively manipulate their economy” — is he just noticing this now? – feels like a clumsy attempt to emulate Donald Trump’s pugnacious anti-Chinese rhetoric.
UPDATE The Walker Team e-mails in, “The governor has been talking about China’s worsening aggression for the past several months, which you’ll find below.”
- April 29: Statement on Regional Dynamics
- May 29: Statement on the South China Sea
- June 4 Statement on Tiananmen Square Anniversary
- June 23: Statement on OPM Hack and U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue
- June 23: Meeting with Chen Guangcheng on Human Rights
- June 23: Meeting with Australian and South Korean Ambassadors to the U.S.
- July 13: Announcement Speech on Cyber Attacks, South China Sea, and Human Rights
- July 24: The National Interest interview on Cyber Attacks and the Pivot to Asia