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President Claudia Sheinbaum will travel to China in November at a time when Mexico is facing pressure from the United States to prioritize bilateral trade relations and reduce its economic ties with China. Meanwhile, the Mexican government’s priority is to attract trade and foreign investment to benefit the national economy and create more jobs for Mexicans.
“I’ve never been to China; this will be my first time,” the president said when confirming her attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will take place in the city of Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. One reason she decided to attend is that Mexico will host the next meeting. “There, we’ll receive the baton, so to speak, to host APEC in 2028.” So far, no bilateral meetings have been confirmed with Chinese President Xi Jinping or U.S. President Donald Trump, although both leaders will be attending the summit.
Mexico cooled its relations with China in 2025, and Mexican imports from China grew by just 2.9 percent, compared with 12.8 percent in 2024. Although growth slowed in 2025, Mexico’s purchases from the Asian giant had increased by 45 percent over the six years leading up to that year. Trade between Mexico and the United States reached unprecedented levels in the first half of 2026, and Mexico remains the United States’ largest trading partner worldwide.
Chinese investment has not only grown steadily in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past decade, but has also diversified across sectors and recipient countries, according to Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the China-Mexico Studies Center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
The United States, the European Union, and Japan remain the leading investors in Latin America and the Caribbean, while Chinese investment has gained momentum. Notably, the share of greenfield projects — investments in new facilities and operations — increased from 25 percent in 2010–2014 to 53 percent in 2020–2025.
In December 2025, Mexico’s Congress approved an amendment to the General Import and Export Tax Law that raises tariffs on countries with which Mexico does not have trade agreements. The measure introduces new tariffs on China and several other countries. President Sheinbaum reiterated that the policy is not aimed specifically at China, but applies to all countries with which Mexico does not have free trade agreements. She emphasized that the decision is intended to strengthen domestic industry as part of the implementation of Plan Mexico.
However, questions remain about the strategy behind Plan Mexico. Is Mexico prepared to define its strategy in response to China’s rise and pressure from the United States? Enrique Dussel Peters raised this question in a conversation on the podcast El Pulso de La Jornada. He noted that China has been the world’s largest economy since 2016. “Dealing with China isn’t optional; you have to confront the reality of China one way or another,” he explained.
There are growing examples of China’s industrial advances. According to the consulting firm Low Carbon Power, nearly 43 percent of China’s electricity consumption comes from renewable sources. Solar power accounts for around 12 percent, with new initiatives such as the Shouhang Molten Salt Solar Thermal Power Plant, the largest of its kind in Asia. Meanwhile, traditional medicine is also advancing, as part of the country’s modernization and technological progress across all sectors. Under the Healthy China Action Plan, the government is promoting the development of a traditional medicine industry that generates more than $75 billion in annual revenue.
Just weeks before the APEC summit, China expressed its desire to work with Mexico and the other member economies to “revitalize” efforts to establish a free trade area and advance the development of a community encompassing the region’s 21 economies.
The Quote:
“It pains me deeply to see that two or three generations have completely failed this generation. We are handing the next generation a world in ruins—morally, spiritually, and socially—with the fabric of society that once allowed us to weave a shared story now torn apart. Even though there is joy in the creative process, and this is a moment of celebration, with a love for preserving art made by hand, by humans for humans, things still feel heavy with sorrow. It’s a moment that makes us realize it’s easier to seem intelligent by being a total son of a bitch than by being supportive; easier to seem intelligent by being a skeptic than by believing in those of us who think we can come together. It’s easier to embrace pessimism than to hold on to a little bit of hope.”
-Guillermo del Toro, speaking at the 20th-anniversary celebration of Pan’s Labyrinth.
In Case You Missed It
◻️ Mexico on the verge of leaving the FAO’s hunger map. While many countries prioritize the interests of large corporations over the common good, Mexico “is doing exactly the opposite: more than 8 million people have been lifted out of poverty, which means they have been lifted out of hunger. And Mexico is very close to being removed from the FAO’s hunger map. It has very little left to go,” said Lina Pohl Alfaro, the representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Mexico.
◻️ A Medical Emergency? Nationwide protests by doctors, nurses, orderlies, and other staff at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) have sparked a debate over the state of Mexico’s public health care system. Corruption, bureaucracy, and outdated procedures are among the causes of problems in health care, President Claudia Sheinbaum said after visiting hospitals and listening to their workers. She pledged that “we will modernize the entire health care system.” Luis Hernández Navarro examines the scope of the protests and the history of labor activism among IMSS workers. He argues that “we are entering full force into a hot autumn of health care workers defending public health care, labor justice, and their dignity.”
◻️ The UN General Assembly could review enforced disappearances in Mexico. “There are well-founded indications that enforced disappearances have been committed as crimes against humanity and that this practice continues to this day” in Mexico, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances stated this week. The committee acknowledged progress made by Mexico, including the government’s announcement that 16,000 missing people have been located, out of more than 130,000 cases on record. However, the Mexican government expressed its opposition to having the country’s situation brought before the plenary of the UN General Assembly, the organization’s highest deliberative body. “Authorities must redouble their efforts to find people whose whereabouts remain unknown,” La Jornada writes, while acknowledging that the government’s progress represents “positive steps.” The newspaper’s editors also criticize the UN’s decision to hold the government responsible when those carrying out enforced disappearances are members of organized criminal groups.
◻️ U.S.: a turn to the left. Katrina vanden Heuvel writes that voters are sending a message to political leaders, especially Democrats: “What was once dismissed as radical—regulating AI and corporate power, abolishing ICE, establishing Medicare for All, ending military aid to Israel and stopping endless wars, and taxing the billionaire class without apology—is rapidly emerging as the commonsense politics of our time.” This shift is reflected in several key legislative races, including that of Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Senate candidate in Michigan whose campaign centers on this message. His platform is raising alarm in the White House and bringing Democrats closer to regaining control of the Senate.
◻️ Se ve, se siente: people are reading! Over the course of 10 days, nearly 2 million people attended the International Book Fair at Mexico City’s Zócalo. Its director, Paloma Saiz, concludes that this “means we’re winning: people are reading.”
◻️ Treasures from the archives: Eduardo Galeano. We continue to introduce our new archive, featuring a selection of articles by some of our renowned contributors. This week, we’re highlighting articles by Galeano and launching the “Archivo de Articulistas,” with the first five contributors.
◻️ Zapotec poet Natalia Toledo. “The outstanding issues facing Indigenous peoples have not only remained unresolved but have multiplied,” warns Zapotec poet Natalia Toledo. She argues that “the Mexican state’s historical debt to Indigenous communities persists, despite the fact that people from these communities have held key government positions since the previous presidential administration.”
🎥 What We Are Watching
Los Tigres del Norte on Tiny Desk Concert
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Edited by David Brooks and Jim Cason in the United States, Tania Molina Ramírez in Mexico City, of La Jornada, and Elizabeth Coll in Tokyo, under the direction of Carmen Lira Saade and Guillermina Álvarez. More information.