In his view, Mexico's national political and economic elite has failed to assume its responsibility to design a strategy toward China and Asia.

This interview by Alejandro Páez Varela and Álvaro Delgado Gómez originally appeared in the January 14, 2026 edition of Sin Embargo. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Mediaor theMexico Solidarity Project*.*

**Mexico City.**Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the China-Mexico Studies Center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), stated that our country must strengthen its trade ties with the Asian giant to expand its strategic links with other countries and not depend solely on the United States.

In an interview with Alejandro Páez and Álvaro Delgado on the program Los Periodistas, which is broadcast on SinEmbargo Al Aire, Dussel Peters pointed out that the discussion about strengthening ties with China should no longer be theoretical, but urgent and concrete.

“What’s at stake is how strategic or profound our relationship with the United States will be—will it be our only one, or do we have the capacity to create a space with a certain degree of independence with third countries, specifically the People’s Republic of China? What’s at stake is what we’re going to do in the coming decades in our relationship, not only in terms of tariffs, but also technology.”

The researcher stressed that China does not intend to compete head-on with the historical relationship between Mexico and the United States, but rather to coexist with it.

“China fully understands that Mexico has a priority relationship with the United States, and China fully understands that Mexico’s relationship with the United States is different from what it might be with Brazil, Argentina, or Colombia. China is not raising its hand and trying to claim it wants to be first or most important in the relationship; that would be naive. China does not intend to do that.”

Enrique Dussel Peters with Ambassador Jesús Seade Kuri at the Embassy of Mexico in China.

Enrique Dussel stated that the main problem lies not in Beijing or Washington, but at home. In his view, the national political and economic elite has failed to assume its responsibility to design a strategy toward China and Asia.

“There are two issues that we haven’t fully grasped in Mexico. One, the elites in Mexico—political parties, the legislature, and such important institutions as the Presidency, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy itself—all these elites have failed to fulfill their responsibilities regarding China.”

The specialist noted that this omission translates into the absence of parliamentary debate, a lack of diagnoses, and improvised policies.

“It has been 12 years since the main institution between Mexico and China met, which exemplifies that neither the Mexican nor the Chinese side has cared about the bilateral relationship.”

My fear is that if there isn’t a genuine interest from the elites in holding bilateral meetings, there will always be excuses not to. It requires an effort from both sides [and] there must be a willingness on Mexico’s part to resume this relationship.

Dussel stressed that a shift in the relationship with China is essential, not just reactivating bilateral channels. Furthermore, he warned that without political will, the relationship will remain marginal and episodic, dominated by crises and trade disputes.

“The goal is to rebuild the relationship as soon as possible in a proactive manner, with some monitoring and evaluation of issues that have arisen historically, and looking ahead. My fear is that if there isn’t a genuine interest from the elites in holding bilateral meetings, there will always be excuses not to. It requires an effort from both sides; there are no sole responsibilities here. If both sides don’t make an effort to rebuild the relationship, it won’t happen. There must be a willingness on Mexico’s part to resume this relationship.”

Despite China being the world’s second largest economy and Mexico’s second largest trading partner, Dussel indicated that the issue barely exists in public discussion.

“No effort has been made regarding the world’s largest economy and our second largest trading partner, the People’s Republic of China. We have simply forgotten about the issue, and it seems as if it is not a topic at all. We don’t want to talk about it or discuss it in the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate.”

Finally, he argued that the lack of debate prevents the design of state policies and leaves the relationship at the mercy of corporate inertia. If nothing changes, he warned, Mexico will remain in the same situation in a couple of years.

“If we don’t take the initiative as soon as possible, we’ll be talking about the same thing in January 2027, and guess what? Nothing will have happened.” In contrast, he points to the Canadian example: “Canada shows us that they have room for this dialogue.” That case, he affirms, demonstrates that it is possible to maintain a close relationship with the United States and, at the same time, build serious and stable channels with China.

The post If Mexico distances itself further from China, it will be left alone against the US: Enrique Dussel appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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