China Accuses White House Advisor of Politicizing Trade by Encouraging Others to Mimic Mexico’s Anti-China Tariffs

This article originally appeared in the December 30, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. After Peter Navarro, senior advisor on trade and manufacturing at the White House, endorsed Mexico’s imposition of tariffs on countries with which it does not have free trade agreements, including China, and called on other nations to implement similar measures, the Chinese embassy in Mexico reacted angrily to what it considered a discrediting of its products and “a clear politicization” of trade issues.

In a statement, the embassy stressed that it “firmly rejects practices that harm Chinese interests” and urged “people like Navarro to abandon their political maneuvering.”

Furthermore, Ambassador Chen Daojiang considered the official’s statements to be “highly offensive” and that the United States is trying to “reshape the rules of international trade through unilateralism and economic coercion, deliberately exporting a failed model to Latin America.”

Conversely, “China advocates resolving economic and trade disputes through dialogue and communication on the basis of equality; it opposes any form of unilateralism, protectionism, or discriminatory and exclusionary measures.”

He also expressed support for global trade liberalization and welcomed other countries that want to “take the express train of China’s development to share the Chinese megamarket and achieve common development through the convergence of interests.”