China responds to Mexico's planned tariff hikes

China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests in response to Mexico's planned tariffs, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday.

A ministry spokesperson made the remarks in response to media reports that Mexico plans to raise import tariffs on about 1,400 items, such as vehicles, toys and steel products, from countries without free trade agreements, including China.

China will closely follow Mexico's tariff move while carefully assessing the final measures, the spokesperson said in an online statement, underscoring that China has consistently called for settling economic and trade disputes through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing.

Amid widespread global opposition to the United States' unilateral tariffs, countries should enhance communication and coordination to jointly uphold free trade and multilateralism. The legitimate interests of third parties must not be compromised under coercion from others, the commerce official said.

"Any unilateral tariff hikes by Mexico, even under the World Trade Organization's framework, would be regarded as appeasement and compromise towards unilateral bullying," said the spokesperson. "If implemented, such measures would not only harm the interests of trading partners, including China, but also erode the predictability of Mexico's business environment and dampen investor confidence."

The Commerce Ministry stressed that China and Mexico are important economic and trade partners, and expressed the hope that bilateral cooperation would not be adversely affected. It urged Mexico to act with utmost caution and think twice before taking any action.