The president of Mexico said on Friday local time that Chinese products are not entering the US and Canada through Mexico, and the Mexican government will make that clear in upcoming trade meetings, according to Reuters.
Chinese analysts said the US should refrain from putting pressure on Mexico’s normal trade ties with China, as continued efforts to decouple with Beijing will only further disrupt the global supply chain and have a negative impact on the world economy.
“In the meetings we have with Canada and (US President-elect) Donald Trump, we’ll show that the idea that (Chinese) products are entering through Mexico is false,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a press conference as a review of the trade pact known as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade pact looms.
According to the Associated Press, Mexico’s ruling Morena party is “so afraid of losing the trade deal” that Sheinbaum said “we have a plan with the aim of substituting these imports that come from China, and producing the majority of them in Mexico, either with Mexican companies or primarily North American companies.”
Chinese analysts said the so-called backdoor concerns of the US and Canada, which add pressure on Mexico, are protectionist in nature, and such irrational concerns will fail to promote the US’ economic development or the broader North American economy.
He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, said the US and Canada might leverage their strong economic power to modify some provisions of the USMCA, compelling Mexico to make certain commitments in its economic and trade cooperation with China. However, it is “unlikely that they would abolish the USMCA and walk away from it.”
“The continuous efforts by the US to decouple with China severely violate international trade rules, threatening the security and stability of global supply chains formed based on comparative strengths, and disrupting global trade. This is detrimental to China, Mexico, and ultimately, it will also harm the interests of the US itself,” He told the Global Times.
He noted that China and Mexico are highly complementary in their economic structures. In recent years, bilateral cooperation in industrial and supply chains has been continuously deepened and broadened, significantly benefiting the Mexican economy.
On October 17, in response to a question from Xinhua News Agency, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted at a press conference Mexico’s “very good relationship” with China and the broad opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a routine press conference on October 21 that China and Mexico are good friends that trust each other and good partners seeking common development.
It is hoped that Mexico will continue to work with China to promote the globalization and liberalization of trade and investment, constantly bringing benefits and welfare to the economies and peoples of both countries, He said.
Mexico is the second-largest economy in Latin America. In recent years, with the rise of the concept of “nearshoring,” Mexico has become a global hotspot for investment, attracting companies from around the world, including China, to invest and set up factories, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
¬In the first 10 months, bilateral trade grew by 11.7 percent year-on-year to reach 652.82 billion yuan ($90.13 billion), data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The car industry and supply chain between China and Mexico has been strong, and such cooperation should not be easily disrupted by US restrictions, Victor Cadena, executive vice president of the Mexican Chamber for Commerce in China, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview in October when responding to the US administration’s proposal to ban key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles from American roads over so-called national security concerns.
More than 20 Chinese auto parts companies already operate in Mexico and several Chinese carmakers such as Chang’an and BYD have announced plans to set up plants in the country, according to Cadena.
