China and Mexico Lay Out Broad Plans to Strengthen Relations

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico and China agreed to a plan to bolster their economic and cultural relationship under new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seeking to overcome ties that were strained under the previous administration.

The nations established an outline on how to boost relations over the next five years, Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday at the conclusion of Minister Marcelo Ebrard's two-day visit to Beijing. Ebrard met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who agreed to visit Mexico, as well as Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.

The two countries historically have been more competitors than allies. Both thrive on cheap labor and the assembly of products later sold to wealthier nations. When China buys goods from Latin America, they are usually commodities to fuel its own growth -- such as iron ore from Brazil or copper from Chile -- rather than manufactured products.

Mexico's president, known as AMLO, took office in December for a term that runs through 2024. His government is looking to diversify exports away from the U.S. after tariff threats from President Donald Trump, who's in the midst of his own trade conflict with China.

Mexico's relationship with China ran into trouble under AMLO's predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto. In 2014, Mexico awarded a $4.3 billion contract to a consortium led by a Chinese company for a high-speed rail line. It was canceled three days later, just before journalists revealed Pena Nieto's wife had agreed to buy a luxury home from a unit of another consortium member.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, ;Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Matthew Malinowski

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