Mexico will review its trade relationship with China: Ramírez de la O

MEXICO CITY (apro).- The Secretary of the Treasury, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, declared that Mexico will review its commercial relationship with China, since he considers that for now there is no equitable trade between the two countries.

In the presence of Claudia Sheinbaum, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrard, Ramírez de la O pointed out the discrepancy in the Mexico-China trade relationship.

“They sell to us and don’t buy from us, that is not reciprocal trade,” he said at the event “Economic Review of Industrial Development and T-MEC,” held in San Luis Potosí on Monday.

Ramírez de la O pointed out that in 2020, the US government facilitated China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, which helped that country increase the sale of its production in the North American market, including Mexico, as well as in the global market.

According to the economist, China has increased its global exports from 3.8% to 14% in just 22 years, but – he said – this expansion has been “at the expense of North America”. The region’s share has fallen from 19% in 2000 to 13% in 2022.

In this way, the Asian country has been able to increase its share of the world’s gross domestic product, while North America has lost ground, both globally and within the region. According to the secretary, our country buys 119 billion dollars a year from China, but only sells 11 billion dollars to the Asian nation.

Mexico is not the only country concerned about China’s expansion, as the United States is also demanding a “fair share of this global demand” and for this reason Ramírez referred to the need for the so-called “Mexico Plan”, through which the bilateral trade relationship between Mexico and the United States, as well as employment, will be promoted.

The economist asked to look at the situation in Mexico with “critical eyes,” since there are still national workers who have to leave the country to look for work. Ramírez pointed out that there are opportunities for Mexico to increase its production, maintain it and generate more and better-paid jobs.

“If we produce more in Mexico, this production requires an increase in employment of 520 thousand more people in Mexico, 600 thousand more people in the United States and 260 thousand more people in China,” he said.