China pledges open-door trade policy in meeting with Mexico’s foreign minister

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said Wednesday that China is unfastened to accepting much imports from Mexico, which presently has a ample commercialized shortage with the East Asian economical powerhouse.

He made the remark during a bilateral gathering with Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente successful Beijing.

Citing a connection issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters reported that “Wang said that China welcomes much Mexican products successful its marketplace and volition promote Chinese companies to put successful Mexico.”

CGTN, a Chinese state-owned English-language quality outlet, reported that Wang told de la Fuente that “China is consenting to deepen strategical communal trust” with Mexico, “share its acquisition successful Chinese modernization and connection the immense opportunities of its supersized market.”

The Chinese overseas curate “welcomed much high-quality Mexican products into the Chinese marketplace and encouraged Chinese enterprises to put successful Mexico, expressing assurance successful Mexico’s unchangeable and affable concern environment,” CGTN reported.

According to CGTN, Wang besides emphasized to de la Fuente that “China places its narration with Mexico arsenic a precedence successful its Latin American diplomacy.”

🇲🇽🇨🇳 Juan Ramón de la Fuente se reúne con su homólogo de China

El canciller Juan Ramón de la Fuente sostuvo un encuentro con Wang Yi, ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de China, en donde se presume, dialogaron sobre los esfuerzos para profundizar la cooperación entre las dos… pic.twitter.com/3FqCvs7Cii

— Político MX (@politicomx) May 14, 2025

The look of China’s willingness to import much goods from Mexico comes astatine a clip erstwhile the Mexican authorities is attempting to trim Mexico’s reliance connected Chinese products arsenic portion of its Plan México economical initiative.

Last July, past concern curate Rogelio Ramírez de la O said that Mexico needed to reappraisal its commercialized narration with China due to the fact that it isn’t “reciprocal,” fixed that Mexico’s imports from China acold transcend its exports to the East Asian nation.

Mexico’s imports from China person accrued importantly successful caller years, posing a menace to Mexican industry, according to the national government. The authorities has imposed caller tariffs connected immoderate Chinese goods, specified arsenic textiles and clothing, arsenic it seeks to support home industry. It has besides carried retired raids connected stores selling pirated Chinese goods.

The worth of Mexico’s imports from China was conscionable nether US $130 cardinal past year, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database. That fig dwarves the worth of China’s imports from Mexico, which were worthy little than $20 cardinal successful 2023.

“China sells to america but doesn’t bargain from america and that’s not reciprocal trade,” Ramírez de la O said past July.

Finance minister: Mexico ‘must nutrient more’ amid increasing commercialized shortage with China

Among Mexico’s apical exports to China are copper ore and concentrates and car parts.

It remains to beryllium seen whether the existent commercialized imbalance volition alteration importantly arsenic a effect of Mexico shipping much goods to China and receiving less Chinese products.

Wang proposes China and Mexico enactment unneurotic to defy ‘unilateral acts’

Reuters besides reported connected Wednesday that Wang told de la Fuente that “China is consenting to enactment with Mexico to defy and reason ‘unilateral acts’ and support the rules of escaped trade.”

The usage of the word “unilateral acts” was a wide notation to Trump’s determination to enforce tariffs connected imports from astir the world, including punishing duties connected Chinese goods, and duties connected immoderate Mexican products.

Trump initiated a commercialized warfare with China during his archetypal word arsenic president and escalated it during his existent word earlier the U.S. and China reached an statement connected Monday to importantly chopped tariffs connected each other’s goods for an archetypal play of 90 days.

While Wang projected greater collaboration betwixt China and Mexico connected commercialized issues, Mexico’s commercialized narration with China could successful information beryllium a sticking constituent successful the reappraisal of the USMCA escaped commercialized pact arsenic United States President Donald Trump has accused Mexico of being a transshipment hub for Chinese goods whose last intended destination is the U.S.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected that claim. The USMCA reappraisal is scheduled for 2026, but Mexico hopes to commence talks successful the 2nd fractional of this twelvemonth successful bid to supply clarity to consumers and investors, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday.

With the reappraisal looming, Mexico is apt to beryllium precise cautious successful its attack to its narration with China successful bid to debar immoderate cognition that it is cozying up to the Chinese government.

Ebrard said precocious past twelvemonth that Mexico would “mobilize each morganatic interests successful favour of North America” amid the commercialized warfare betwixt the United States and China.

De la Fuente: ‘China and Mexico person a broad strategical association’

De la Fuente traveled to China this week to be the 4th China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting, astatine which Chinese officials gathered with representatives of Latin American and Caribbean governments.

De la Fuente astatine the 4th China-CELAC Forum ministerial gathering earlier this week. (SRE)

At the plenary league of the gathering connected Tuesday, the Mexican overseas curate “welcomed initiatives aimed astatine openness and gathering bridges betwixt countries, on with projects that complement national, regional, and multilateral practice and improvement efforts,” according to a connection issued by Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.

At his bilateral gathering with Wang connected Wednesday, de la Fuente said that “China and Mexico person a broad strategical relation that has fixed america bully results.”

He highlighted the 2 countries’ “long past of commercialized relations” and reaffirmed Mexico’s committedness to recognizing “just 1 China.”

After the gathering betwixt the Mexican and Chinese overseas ministers, a header successful the paper El Financiero screamed: “Mexico winks astatine China: highlights its commercialized narration with Beijing contempt hostility with Trump.”

Sheinbaum met with Chinese President Xi Jinping astatine the G20 Summit successful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, past November. At the meeting, Xi said that China and Mexico should “make bully usage of the highly complementary quality of the 2 economies.”

At the China-CELAC gathering successful Beijing, the Chinese president vowed “to boost China’s footprint successful Latin America and the Caribbean with a caller $9 cardinal recognition enactment and caller infrastructure investment,” Reuters reported.

Will much Chinese concern travel to Mexico?

Wang’s remark that China volition promote Chinese companies to put successful Mexico has the imaginable to acceptable disconnected alarm bells successful Washington, arsenic President Trump has expressed concerns astir specified concern connected galore occasions.

Mexico has also faced criticism from some Canadian politicians for allowing what they spot arsenic unfettered Chinese concern successful Mexico and for allegedly being a low-tariff “backdoor” into North America for Chinese goods.

Trump is peculiarly acrophobic astir Chinese automakers’ plans to unfastened plants successful Mexico, though Sheinbaum has declared that “there is not yet immoderate steadfast concern task from immoderate Chinese automotive company.”

The Mexican authorities says it is unfastened to Chinese concern successful Mexico, but unit from the United States reportedly led it to garbage to connection incentives to Chinese electrical conveyance manufacturers readying to put successful Mexico, specified arsenic BYD.

As Mexico News Daily reported past July, Chinese concern successful Mexico has accrued importantly successful caller years, but the East Asian federation is inactive a agelong mode disconnected matching the outlays of countries specified arsenic the United States and Spain.

Some large Chinese companies, specified arsenic BYD, person announced projects successful Mexico, but person not yet acted connected their announcements. There is nary warrant that BYD’s projected plant, and different projects announced by Chinese companies, volition spell ahead.

China, and Chinese companies, person “a agelong past of making concern announcements they don’t travel up on,” Jorge Guajardo, a erstwhile Mexican ambassador to China, told Mexico News Daily past year.

Even if the Chinese authorities “encourages” Chinese companies to put successful Mexico, arsenic Foreign Minister Wang says it volition do, the information remains that they volition lone bash truthful if it makes economical sense.

The policies of the Trump administration, on with those of the Mexican authorities —including its willingness oregon reluctance to invited Chinese companies — volition beryllium decisive successful determining whether promised and imaginable Chinese concern successful Mexico yet materializes.

With reports from CGTN, Reuters, Reforma, El Economista and EFE