Mexico intends to stay neutral in the US-China tariff war but will seek to boost trade with Beijing through increased agricultural exports to address a trade imbalance, Mexico’s top envoy to China said on Wednesday.
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Speaking at an event hosted by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, ambassador Jesús Seade acknowledged the United States as Mexico’s top trade partner, but stressed his country’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,” he added.
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.
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Seade said that 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 cooperate with many other countries.
