China Advances, Washington Worries
Published in La Cronica de Hoy
(Mexico) on 17 March 2026
by Fernando Martínez González (link to
original)
The increasingly influential economic presence of the Asian giant in Latin America worries President Donald Trump. This was apparent during the recent Shield of the Americas summit, where the Republican warned about China's growing presence in the region.
China has consolidated a strong economic presence in Latin America, with multibillion dollar investments in Brazil, port control in Peru, energy projects in Argentina and strategic alliances in Chile. These are not diplomatic gestures, but a strategy with objectives to secure markets for their enormous productive capacity and to guarantee access to key resources.
Unlike the political model of the United States, where institutional counterweights can slow down decisions of the executive branch of government, the Chinese system allows the head of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, to lead the economy with a strategic discipline difficult to replicate in Western democracies.
Although China is currently facing a structural slowdown, with a target growth of between 4.5% and 5% for 2026, the key to this impressive development has been in its model of manufacturing, exports and new investments. That is why it has earned the title of "factory of the world." Its manufacturing sector has demonstrated strong expansion since the beginning of this year, with foreign trade also increasing in recent months.
This advance explains the growing concern in Washington regarding the impact of trade imbalances and strategic competition with Beijing.
The priority for China seems to be the colonization of markets, because its enormous production capacity does not match its domestic demand. Its economy is primarily oriented to export; the trade surplus of the most populous country in the world is approximately $450 billion.
And Mexico is not sitting on the sidelines. A growing presence of Chinese automotive brands and the potential use of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to triangle exports to the United States have ignited alerts in our country’s government. Economic Secretary Marcelo Ebrard himself has recognized the need to monitor this phenomenon.
China has become the elephant in the room: too big and heavy to remove, only through confrontation with bold business strategies can it be neutralized. It has weaknesses that could be targeted: its enormous accumulation of external debt; the loss of more than $1 trillion in international reserves; and the high volatility of the prices of real estate shares and other assets.
The Chinese government's attempts to resolve these threats are contradictory. Passing them off as market-oriented socialism could generate uncertainty and volatility in the short term.
China has consolidated a strong economic presence in Latin America, with multibillion dollar investments in Brazil, port control in Peru, energy projects in Argentina and strategic alliances in Chile. These are not diplomatic gestures, but a strategy with objectives to secure markets for their enormous productive capacity and to guarantee access to key resources.
Unlike the political model of the United States, where institutional counterweights can slow down decisions of the executive branch of government, the Chinese system allows the head of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, to lead the economy with a strategic discipline difficult to replicate in Western democracies.
Although China is currently facing a structural slowdown, with a target growth of between 4.5% and 5% for 2026, the key to this impressive development has been in its model of manufacturing, exports and new investments. That is why it has earned the title of "factory of the world." Its manufacturing sector has demonstrated strong expansion since the beginning of this year, with foreign trade also increasing in recent months.
This advance explains the growing concern in Washington regarding the impact of trade imbalances and strategic competition with Beijing.
The priority for China seems to be the colonization of markets, because its enormous production capacity does not match its domestic demand. Its economy is primarily oriented to export; the trade surplus of the most populous country in the world is approximately $450 billion.
And Mexico is not sitting on the sidelines. A growing presence of Chinese automotive brands and the potential use of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to triangle exports to the United States have ignited alerts in our country’s government. Economic Secretary Marcelo Ebrard himself has recognized the need to monitor this phenomenon.
China has become the elephant in the room: too big and heavy to remove, only through confrontation with bold business strategies can it be neutralized. It has weaknesses that could be targeted: its enormous accumulation of external debt; the loss of more than $1 trillion in international reserves; and the high volatility of the prices of real estate shares and other assets.
The Chinese government's attempts to resolve these threats are contradictory. Passing them off as market-oriented socialism could generate uncertainty and volatility in the short term.
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