China’s Mexico investment may dwarf official figures, with estimated US$13 billion in play
Chinese investment in Mexico – widely perceived as a handy detour around US-imposed tariffs – could be six times more than what is reflected in official data, a risk consultancy estimated in a report released on Thursday.
The Washington-based Rhodium Group has turned up more than 700 completed foreign direct investment transactions from China to the Latin American nation with a cumulative value US$13 billion. Both figures, if accurate, would overshadow official tallies of investment stock – the total accumulated level of direct investments.
“Although it represents a relatively small portion of total foreign investment, Chinese FDI in Mexico is significantly higher than shown in official statistics,” the Rhodium Group said in its China Cross-Border Monitor report.
“While some Chinese firms are eyeing the local Mexican market, overall investment appetite will be shaped by market access to the US.”
Newly announced investments from China have averaged 13 major transactions per year since 2015, worth an average total of US$1 billion for each year through 2020, report authors said. Automotive investments were projected to represent three-quarters of the 2023 total, with parts manufacturers being a particularly substantive source of growth.
