Sheinbaum on Mexico’s trade ties with China and the United States ahead of APEC summit, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday defended her country’s good relations with both China and the United States, while stressing that its main trade integration is with North America. Her remarks came during her morning press conference, two weeks before she is due to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China.
Sheinbaum said Mexico maintains trade ties with the Asian giant, but that its principal economic partnership is with the United States and Canada, countries it shares the North American trade agreement (USMCA) with. She noted that some Chinese companies operate in Mexico and that Mexico imports a large volume of Chinese products, including components used by U.S.
automakers established on Mexican territory.
She emphasized that North American economic integration has been consolidated over decades and reminded that Mexico has no free trade agreement with China. The president also defended her government’s decision to raise some tariffs on Chinese products in December 2025, which she attributed to the need to protect domestic industry from lower-priced imports under the Plan Mexico initiative.
The comments come amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and negotiations over the review of the USMCA, in which the United States has expressed concern about Chinese products and companies in North American supply chains. Mexico announced tariff increases of up to 50% in 2025 on certain products from countries with which it has no free trade agreements, including China, which objected to the measures.
Sheinbaum will travel to Shenzhen, in southern China, on November 18 and 19 for the leaders’ meeting of the 21 APEC economies. It will be her first visit to China since taking office in October 2024, and Mexico will also attend as the future host of the forum, which it will organize in 2028.
APEC, founded in 1989, brings together economies on both sides of the Pacific and seeks to facilitate trade, investment and economic cooperation in the region.
