"If we negotiate such a [free-trade] agreement, it will significantly contribute to our trade. There are no problems here from the part of China, we are ready," the ambassador said Wednesday.
According to Qiu, Mexico is now the second largest trading partner of China in Latin America, while China occupies the second position in Mexico’s international trade.
"We want to promote and deepen our relationship with Mexico. It is a very important trading partner to for China, and any agreement for the further simplification of procedures in trade will be great," the diplomat said.
In May, Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal said Mexico may focus on trade with China instead of the United States due to emerging tensions in trade relations with the neighboring country.
Donald Trump's victory at the US presidential election was considered by the Mexican authorities as a threat to the US-Mexican trade relations as during his presidential campaign, Trump had pledged to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Mexico is part of.
According to the US Department of State, Mexico's exports rely heavily on supplying the US market, but the country has also sought to diversify its export destinations. Nearly 80 percent of Mexico’s exports go to the United States, the Department's official figures showed.
