US pressure should not negate mutually beneficial China

Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

China-Mexico trade is "not reciprocal" and the North American country must review China's practices, Mexican Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O said on Saturday, echoing groundless American accusations of "industrial overcapacity," the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

In a panic-driven but unattainable attempt to cut China out of global industrial chain collaboration, the US has increased its scrutiny of Mexico's trade with China. However, this shouldn't be a reason for Mexican officials to point fingers at China, and Mexico shouldn't follow the US down a dead end.

Mexico buys "$119 billion a year from China and we sell $11 billion," said Rogelio Ramirez de la O, who accused China of boosting its share of global exports "at the expense of North America," according to the report. North America "remains very dependent on imports from China," Ramirez de la O said.

Mutually beneficial China-Mexico economic and trade relations should not be measured solely based on trade balances. Terms such as "over-reliance" and "unfair trade" are just rhetorical claims concocted by American politicians to justify their malicious attempt to exclude China from global industrial chain cooperation, which goes against the facts and the principles of free trade.

It is crucial to understand that the attempt by the US to completely squeeze Chinese manufacturing out of global industrial and supply chains by accusing China of "industrial overcapacity" and "unfair trade practices" is a delusion that goes against the laws of economics. It is unrealistic to completely remove Chinese manufacturing from products sold worldwide.

As the US has been intensely tightening its export restrictions on China and arbitrarily raising trade barriers for imports from China, the Mexican manufacturing sector has gained a chance for accelerated growth. It is the fast growth of intermediate goods imports from China that has supported the rapid growth of Mexico's manufacturing industry and exports.

Mexico surpassed China as the top exporter to the US in 2023. Those exports were driven by manufacturing, which comprises 40 percent of Mexico's economy, according to Morgan Stanley, US media outlet CNN reported.

Mexico benefits from a global supply chain in which China plays a crucial and irreplaceable role. 

When most Mexican manufacturing enterprises rely on imported raw materials, intermediate goods and capital products from China to consolidate and improve their export capacity, it is unjustifiable to follow the US lead in baselessly blaming China for trade issues. 

For Mexico, a more rational approach is to resist political interference from the US when examining trade relations with China. Instead of solely focusing on trade deficits, Mexico should consider the broader, long-term benefits and potential value of cooperation with China.

The trade imbalance between China and Mexico is influenced by various factors, including the industrial structures and economic conditions of both nations, and it has been a longstanding issue. However, imports from Mexico to China showed a rapid average annual growth rate of 20.6 percent between 2000 and 2019. China has remained the third-largest export market for Mexico for several years. 

As both countries are important links in the international industrial chain, the further promotion of mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation will be in line with the economic interests of China and Mexico. 

Through strengthening communication and negotiation, both countries can explore more mutually beneficial cooperation models and jointly promote sustainable economic development. 

Hopefully, Mexico will avoid succumbing to the potentially harmful narratives of "overcapacity" and "trade reliance" that are prevalent in the US. These politically charged accusations have the potential to create unnecessary uncertainty in the trade relationship between China and Mexico. 

However, by further enhancing mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation with China, Mexico's sustained economic growth is expected to receive a continuous boost. 

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]