An Unsettling 'Money Pot' Parallel Between Accused CCP Agent Linda Sun, VP Candidate Tim Walz

Caption: A 1994 Nebraska newspaper article detailing Tim Walz’s honeymoon in China. The article describes how Walz deliberately scheduled his wedding to be on the fifth anniversary of the CCP’s Tiananmen Square Massacre. Walz’s then-fiancée, Gwen, is quoted, “He wanted to have a date he’ll always remember.”

The arrest of Linda Sun, a former high-ranking New York state official, on charges of acting as a covert agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reveals a far more insidious threat facing the United States than just one rogue operative. The federal indictment against Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, isn't just about financial crimes, visa fraud, and backdoor dealings with CCP officials. It’s about how deeply the CCP has infiltrated and cultivated political figures in America—figures like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has been groomed for decades by Beijing. As Kamala Harris's running mate in 2024, Walz represents something far more dangerous: the potential of having a CCP-compromised politician a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Sun’s actions, as detailed in the indictment, are breathtaking in their brazenness. This is a woman who allegedly facilitated CCP officials’ illegal entry into the U.S., conspired to keep the New York governor from attending events, and presented fake gubernatorial proclamations to Chinese consulate officials. Sun’s work for the CCP netted her and her husband millions of dollars in luxury assets, including homes in Long Island and Hawaii, a Ferrari Roma, and various high-end vehicles. But make no mistake—Sun is not an isolated case. She is part of a broader strategy by the CCP to plant loyal operatives within key U.S. political institutions. And Minnesota’s Tim Walz appears to be another success story in Beijing’s decades-long game of influence.

Tim Walz may not be under indictment, but his long and cozy relationship with China raises alarm bells. Over the past 30 years, Walz visited China no fewer than 30 times. He built lucrative business connections with CCP officials while overseeing a company that brought American students to China, all expenses paid by the Chinese government. And yet, when confronted about his connections to the CCP, Walz downplays their significance. Just as troubling, Walz has publicly opposed the tough-on-China policies of President Trump, opting instead to treat Beijing as a benign competitor rather than a clear and present threat.

The parallels between Walz’s cultivation by the CCP and Sun’s covert operations are hard to ignore. According to the indictment, Sun received $47,895 from a China-based bank account labeled as “Payment for Travelling.” Shortly after, she was arranging meetings between New York state officials and the Jiangsu Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a clear CCP front organization. Sun wasn’t just an operative for Beijing—she was their key liaison within the New York state government, connecting CCP officials to American policymakers in exchange for money and favors. And it’s precisely this same money-pot approach that the CCP used to court Tim Walz over decades, granting him fellowships, paying for student trips, and ultimately embedding him in their web of influence.

The CCP’s playbook is clear: build long-term relationships with U.S. politicians who are willing to look the other way when it comes to China’s human rights abuses, economic aggression, and intellectual property theft. This is not a conspiracy theory; this is the reality outlined by experts like Dr. Peter Navarro and former ICE Chief Tom Homan. As Homan pointed out in a recent interview with me, the Biden-Harris administration has not only weakened our southern border but has left our northern border with Canada virtually unguarded. The ease with which CCP operatives could flee the country via Canada—just as Sun and Hu may be plotting to do—is a terrifying prospect in itself.

When it comes to Tim Walz, the CCP must be thrilled with the returns on their investment. Walz’s ties to China go back decades, from his time as a visiting fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University—a CCP-controlled institution backing the Belt and Road Initiative—to his profitable business ventures that facilitated U.S.-China student exchanges. The CCP has played the long game with Walz, knowing full well that embedding operatives like him in U.S. political circles could pay off in ways far beyond what Sun has achieved in New York.

As Kamala Harris's running mate in 2024, Walz has already demonstrated his willingness to advocate for policies favorable to Beijing. He has publicly downplayed the need for an adversarial relationship with China, even as the CCP engages in comprehensive economic warfare against the United States. Just this March, Walz met with Zhao Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Chicago, to discuss “China-U.S. relations and sub-national cooperation”—a euphemism for facilitating more Chinese influence at the state level. Like Sun, Walz has proven himself to be a useful tool in the CCP’s strategy to undermine American sovereignty from within.

What makes this even more disturbing is how little scrutiny Walz has faced compared to someone like Sun. While Sun is now under indictment for her covert work, Walz continues to operate without serious challenge. Yet the indictment of Sun and Hu serves as a grim warning about how deeply the CCP’s tentacles have reached into American political life. As one CCP official reportedly wrote to Sun, “You are the most important hub connecting us with [New York Governor Andrew Cuomo] and his team.” The question Americans must now ask is: Who is the most important hub connecting the CCP with the Harris-Walz ticket?

If the CCP was pleased with the covert work Sun did for them in New York, imagine how ecstatic they must be with their ongoing relationship with Tim Walz. With Walz just one election away from the vice presidency, the CCP is poised to have unprecedented influence in the highest echelons of American government. The prospect of having a CCP-compromised politician within a heartbeat of the presidency is not just unsettling—it’s a clear and present danger to national security.

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, they must be aware of the stakes. The CCP has spent decades cultivating figures like Walz, embedding them within American institutions to advance Beijing’s agenda. Sun’s indictment is just the beginning. The real question is, how many more politicians like Tim Walz have been compromised, and what will it mean for the future of this country if they ascend to higher office?

The CCP’s influence game is no longer a distant threat—it’s here, and it’s happening now. Walz’s cozy relationship with Beijing, his willingness to parrot their talking points, and his long history of interactions with CCP officials should disqualify him from even being considered for the vice presidency. As Dr. Navarro and I have consistently warned, Tim Walz simply cannot be trusted to put America first. The CCP knows this, and they’re banking on it.

Adam Molon is a guest columnist for Peter Navarro’s Taking Back Trump’s America. He is a China scholar and the author of NewSentry.