Amid rapid growth in bilateral trade, Mexico abruptly raised import duties on 392 tariff lines in August. Analysts believe that the most affected countries will include Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries, while countries with free trade agreements (FTAs) with Mexico, including the United States, will not be affected by the decree.

    China's response

    At a press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on the afternoon of September 14, some media asked that China and some other Asian economies would be affected if they did not sign free trade agreements with Mexico, and China is one of Mexico's important trading partners. What is the comment of the Ministry of Commerce?

    In this regard, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said that China has noticed that since August 16 this year, Mexico has raised import tariffs on 392 tax items for countries and regions that have not signed free trade agreements with it.

    "Although this measure is not targeted at a specific country, it has affected trade exchanges between China and Mexico to a certain extent." At the same time, the increase in Mexico's overall tariff level will also affect investor confidence, and China is highly concerned about this." He Yadong said that from historical experience, increasing the level of tariffs will increase the production cost of downstream industries and reduce the welfare of consumers, Mexico is the beneficiary of free trade, and hope that Mexico will adhere to the principle of free trade and use such measures with caution.

    According to customs data, China's imports and exports in August this year were 3.59 trillion yuan, down 2.5% year-on-year and up 3.9% month-on-month. Among them, exports were 2.04 trillion yuan, down 3.2% year-on-year and up 1.2% quarter-on-quarter.

    He Yadong said in this regard, affected by the superposition of economic factors and non-economic factors, China's foreign trade situation is grim and complex, in the face of risks and challenges, China's foreign trade enterprises face the difficulties and actively explore overseas markets; Steady foreign trade policies continue to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of blocked points and difficulties to speed up the dredging; China's competitive products are increasingly competitive and continue to contribute to export growth. "On the whole, China's foreign trade has withstood multiple pressures and shown strong resilience, and the overall operation is stable, with some positive changes in the data." "He said.

    China is Mexico's second largest trading partner in the world

    He Yadong said that both China and Mexico are major developing countries and emerging countries, and their friendly cooperation enjoys a solid political foundation and extensive common interests. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Mexico bilateral relations have developed rapidly and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results.

    He said that Mexico is China's second largest trading partner in Latin America and China is Mexico's second largest trading partner in the world. Bilateral trade has maintained a momentum of continuous growth, and it can be said that economic and trade cooperation has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and two peoples.

    Customs data show that from January to July this year, the total value of imports and exports between China and Mexico has reached 393.42 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 11.9 percent over the same period last year. Among them, China's export to Mexico was 322.02 billion yuan, up 12.6% year on year; Imports from Mexico reached 71.42 billion yuan, up 9.0% year on year.

    "China is willing to make joint efforts with Mexico to give full play to the advantages of economic complementarity between the two countries, promote the facilitation of trade and investment, and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral economic and trade relations." He Yadong said.