China’s top diplomat on the US-Mexico border denounced protectionism as a dead end at the weekend, delivering a pointed defence of open trade just weeks before Mexico, the United States and Canada sit down to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that governs North American commerce.

Consul General Fu Xinrong told a business gathering in Tijuana that unilateralism benefits no one and called on nations to build economic ties based on sovereignty and mutual respect rather than tariff walls.

“Unilateralism and protectionism do not benefit anyone. It would be a dead end,” Fu said.

Though she did not name the United States, the target was difficult to miss. Washington has signalled it will use the USMCA review to push for tighter rules of origin and new curbs on Chinese firms it accuses of using Mexico as a back door into the American market.

Mexico has already moved to get ahead of that pressure, imposing tariffs of up to 50 per cent on hundreds of Chinese product lines in what officials framed as an alignment with North American economic security interests.

The stakes are particularly high in Baja California, where Chinese manufacturers have built a formidable industrial cluster over the past decade. Hisense, TCL, TPV Technology, BOE and Yongfeng Technology all operate factories in the state, grouped under the Chinese Business Association of Baja California.