Mexico will not take sides in the US-China tariff war and aims to boost agricultural exports to tackle its trade imbalance with China, according to Mexico’s top envoy to Beijing.
Advertisement
Speaking at an event hosted by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China on Wednesday, ambassador Jesús Seade acknowledged the United States was Mexico’s top trade partner, but stressed Mexico’s commitment to maintaining strong ties with China.
“There is no question that the US is our No 1 partner in business, in politics, in everything,” Seade said at the event in Beijing.
“But that does not mean that we choose sides. If they [US] get angry with China, we are angry with China? Not at all.”
Earlier this month in Geneva, China and the US agreed to a temporary truce, rolling back tariffs for 90 days. But the sustained trade tensions have spread to multiple geopolitical fronts, including growing competition for influence in the Global South, as well as with crucial trade partners like Mexico.
Advertisement
Seade said Mexico had declared many times that the US was its closest partner, but Mexico also had a “universal mentality”, meaning the country wanted to do business and work with many other countries.