House Republicans are demanding answers from the FBI about Minnesota governor Tim Walz's extensive ties to communist China.

Since he was handpicked by Kamala Harris to be her running mate, Walz has come under scrutiny for his frequent travels to China and comments praising its political system.

Walz has visited China, by his own reckoning, about 30 times. The former high school teacher started his own education company to sponsor annual student trips to China as well.

FBI obstructing Walz probe

The governor's ties to China bear the characteristics of a foreign influence operation, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (Ky.) said. The FBI ignored a previous request from Comer for information about Walz's China ties.

"The deadline to produce such documents and information has passed, and the Bureau has failed to provide any response to the Committee," Comer wrote in a letter. "The FBI’s silence regarding Mr. Walz’s documented relations with CCP affiliates is inexcusable."

Comer demanded the FBI provide records to "understand the full extent of Mr. Walz’s ties to the CCP."

As a member of Congress, Walz secured $2 million in funding for a research lab in Minnesota with ties to China, the Hormel Institute. The lab's director, Dr. Zigang Dong, praised Walz for his efforts to secure funding, Fox News reported.

In 2019, Dong resigned from his position as the FBI was probing his alleged failure to report foreign backing.

Walz's China ties

The Hormel Institute has come under scrutiny for its ties to the Beijing Genomics Institute, a Chinese biotech company. The Pentagon considers the company an affiliate of China's military.

In fact, the House passed bi-partisan legislation this week to sanction the Beijing Genomics Institute, which has been accused of collecting Americans' DNA.

The Hormel Institute has also collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese lab suspected by many to be the source of the COVID-19 virus. The FBI's own director, Christopher Wray, has said the virus likely leaked from a Chinese government lab.

But the FBI hasn't been in any hurry to answer Comer's legitimate questions about Walz's China ties. Those connections extend into his personal life: Walz married his wife Gwen on the anniversary of the Tianenmen Square massacre. Walz's wife said he wanted a "date to remember."

As a high school teacher, Walz described Chinese communism as a system where "everyone shares."