The Mexico–Queretaro Train, Dragon Mart, and the Ups and Downs of Mexico–China Relations

Abstract

This chapter reviews the Mexico–China relationship during the last decade, with an emphasis on the canceled Mexico–Queretaro Train and the Dragon Mart Project. Chinese infrastructure projects have represented a particular level of socioeconomic interaction and complexity, with potential for cooperation and development for the future. It is thus relevant to understand both the level of socioeconomic interaction, particularly in terms of trade and foreign direct investment, and the specific impact of these megaproject cancelations. Although Mexico and China have maintained ties for several centuries, celebrating in February of 2022 the 50th anniversary of formal relations, it is from the nineties that the relationship reached new heights. During the twenty-first century, the People's Republic of China has intensified its relationship with Mexico and becoming Mexico's second-largest trading partner after the United States. Still, Mexico’s membership in the North American commercial alliance formerly known as NAFTA, now United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement—USMCA—complicates the possibilities for any deeper interaction.