Mexico will maintain trade relations with China

MEXICO - President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed that she will maintain trade with China as before, despite the risk of imposing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We privilege coordination, obviously, with the Trade Agreement we have with the United States and Canada (USMCA) because that gives us enormous advantages. This does not mean that there is no trade with China, there is trade with China,” he said.

However, she pointed out that with Plan Mexico, a long-term project that is committed to the regional development of the country, the objective is to increase part of the imports from China in order to produce them in Mexico.

“There are many things that can be manufactured in Mexico that we do not need to import. So we are working with Mexican entrepreneurs to increase the value chain in our country, that is one of the policies we have,” Sheinbaum reiterated.

She insisted that Mexico's trade agreements with other countries will be privileged, and ruled out the possibility of signing an agreement with China, but affirmed that trade will continue with that country “as it is now”.

During the last two decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico has been dominated by the United States, while China has shown progressive growth, which has led to the current trade tensions in the area and to Mexico being immersed in the crossfire between Washington and Beijing.