Trade with the so-called ‘Asian dragon’ reached 14.898 billion dollars, according to data from Banxico.

The sum of exports and imports between Mexico and China amounted to 14.898 billion dollars during the first two months of 2021, representing annual growth of 9.8 percent, according to data from the Bank of Mexico.

With this, Mexico’s total trade with the Asian dragon recorded its highest level in history for a comparable period.

Within the trade balance, Mexico exported goods to China worth 1.507 billion dollars, which represented growth of 60.7 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, imports into the Mexican market from the Asian country amounted to 13.39 billion dollars, a figure 6 percent higher than that recorded in the first two months of 2020.

China accounted for 10.9 percent of Mexico’s total trade with the world during the first two months of 2021.

The ‘Asian dragon’ is currently Mexico’s second-largest trading partner, although it still ranks far below the United States, as 62 percent of the Mexican market’s total trade is tied to U.S. territory.

In 1994, trade with China accounted for barely 0.4 percent of Mexico’s total trade transactions, although over the years the relationship with the Asian country has continued to grow.

It took just 10 years for China to go from being Mexico’s 17th-largest trading partner to its second-largest, a position the Chinese market has held since 2003.

Fernando Ruiz Huarte, director general of the Consejo Empresarial Mexicano de Comercio Exterior, Inversión y Tecnología (COMCE), said in an interview that China has been showing a marked recovery in its foreign trade in recent months.

“China’s 18.3 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the first quarter of 2021 is underpinned by its foreign trade, but also by its enormous domestic market,” he said.

During 2020, because of the pandemic, world merchandise trade fell by 5.3 percent year on year, but the World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates a recovery of 8 percent for this year, while forecasts for 2022 are around 4 percent.

Source: El Financiero