Mexico’s government is attempting to downplay its relationship with China to avoid Trump’s ire, but ties continue beneath the surface.
In the beginning of March 2025, I traveled to Mexico to speak with a range of officials and experts about activities by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its companies in the country, among other topics.
In the midst of U.S. attention to China’s activities in Mexico and across the region, and in the face of threatened U.S. tariffs against Mexican products, the Mexican government of Claudia Sheinbaum is reportedly attempting to restrain high-profile activities with China that it perceives could antagonize the Trump administration. Nonetheless, beyond a small number of completed or postponed projects with China – such as a BYD hybrid car plant and the Maya tourist train – that have received particular high-level U..S scrutiny, the China-Mexico relationship continues to grow and deepen.
Political Relations
President Sheinbaum’s caution toward China appears to be reciprocated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It’s been over three months since China’s outspoken former ambassador to Mexico, Zhang Run, departed for a post in the Foreign Ministry at the end of 2024, yet the Chinese government has not yet named a new ambassador. That’s particularly unusual in CCP engagement with a country as large and important as Mexico.
Background image of President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the CHN spokesperson on X.com (https://x.com/SpokespersonCHN/status/1858662963353448543)