Chinese President Xi Jinping will follow-up his talks with Donald Trump by visiting this weekend another country that has had to face the US leader’s ire over trade: Mexico.
Xi will travel to Mexico City to attend the inauguration of the country’s leftist president-elect, Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry said Tuesday.
Xi’s attendance at the inauguration ceremony “shows the high level of importance that China attaches to China-Mexico relations,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing.
China and Mexico are “comprehensive strategic partners and enjoy close, high-level exchanges and political trust”, he added. Before heading to Mexico, the Chinese leader will meet with Trump at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires as their trade war shows no signs of abating.
Trump has already imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion in Chinese goods — about half of the total imported each year — in an attempt to pressure the country to reverse alleged unfair trade practices, such as the forced transfer of intellectual property and massive state intervention in markets. Read more