Mexico and the United States confront similar challenges in the face of China’s rise. Clyde Prestowitz and Enrique Dussel Peters outline the issues and the strategies available to both countries at the U.S.–Mexico Futures Forum.
China’s remarkable economic growth has benefited millions of people in China, as well as in the United States and Mexico. However, the current economic challenge posed by China’s globalizing influence demands robust and far-reaching action on the part of both North American countries. When it comes to China, the United States has more in common with Mexico than with its other North American neighbor, Canada. Canada can continue to prosper as a primary commodities exporter — much like Brazil — but the U.S. and Mexican economies have both relied heavily on domestic industry and therefore have been particularly affected by changing trade profiles with China. Both countries experienced capital flight and job losses as firms migrated toward China in the 1990s, while Chinese imports have significantly displaced domestic production since the turn of the millennium.
