Sino-Mexican Economic and Trade Relations

Abstract

Firstly, this chapter reviews Sino-Mexican trade and economic relations since the mid-16th century, that can be divided into four stages. The first stage is before the normalization of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the PRC, the second stage ends before China becomes a member of the WTO , the third stage is from the start of China’s WTO entry to the world financial crisis in 2008, and finally, the last stage is from then on to the present. We also consider the challenges China brings to Mexico in the biggest Mexican foreign market—the U.S. market. Secondly, we present some potential challenges in the economic cooperation between China and Mexico. We illustrate the internal obstacles in China, including concerns on the quality of Chinese made products, responsibility of Chinese companies in protecting the environment, Chinese investment in sensitive sectors and worries about China’s recent economic down turn, etc., which may hinder China’s investment in Mexico. Finally, we summarize the contributions of the book and provide some policy suggestions.