China all set to safeguard trade interests

China has initiated an anti-dumping probe into pecans imported from the United States and Mexico, and has also launched a separate investigation into Mexico's restrictive measures against the nation.

These moves signal Beijing's determination to safeguard its national interests and global trading system, analysts said.

This follows a proposal by Mexico to increase tariffs on Chinese textiles, steel and automotive goods, and comes at a time when China and the United States are eyeing further talks to resolve their trade dispute.

The anti-dumping probe, announced on Thursday, is scheduled to conclude by Sept 25, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, noting that it could be prolonged by six months if needed.

There is evidence that pecans from these two countries "are being sold in China at artificially low prices", inflicting substantial harm on the domestic industry, the ministry said.

The ministry also announced on Thursday that it is initiating a separate investigation into Mexico's restrictive measures that constitute trade and investment barriers against China.

"In the current context of the US' abuse of tariff hikes, all countries should jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, and must not sacrifice the interests of third parties under the coercion of others," a spokesperson for the ministry said.

Earlier this month, the Mexican government proposed significant tariff increases on over 1,400 products, including Chinese textiles, steel, and automotive goods, as part of its 2026 budget package.

Analysts view Mexico's recent restrictive measures as a move to protect domestic industries, and more importantly, appease Washington amid trade tensions and a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade pact.

"If Mexico's unilateral tariff hike measures are implemented, even within the framework of the WTO, it will harm the interests of related trading partners, including China, and seriously impact the certainty of the business environment in Mexico, undermining the confidence of enterprises in investing in the country," the spokesperson added.

China is Mexico's second largest trading partner globally, after the United States, while Mexico is China's second largest trading partner in Latin America. In 2024, the total trade value between China and Mexico reached $109.4 billion, data from the ministry showed.

"What we are seeing is not a trade policy rooted in Mexico's market conditions, but a geopolitical one driven by Washington's agenda," said Cui Fan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

The move risks drawing Mexico deeper into a confrontational approach that could destabilize regional supply chains and undermine the stability of the global trading system. It also raises questions about the sustainability of Mexico's trade environment where economic decisions are increasingly made under coercion rather than through rules-based mechanisms, Cui added.

Earlier on Thursday, the ministry also placed six US firms on its export control and unreliable entity lists.

"The biggest obstacle currently affecting the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US is the unilateral restrictive measures taken by the US," He Yadong, spokesman for the ministry, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said despite progress made in the four rounds of China-US trade talks, there are still significant differences between the two countries on major economic and trade issues such as tariffs and technology restrictions.

This will require the United States to abandon its erroneous practices of resorting to unilateral sanctions and coercion through long-arm jurisdiction, Zhou said.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn