Discreet Realism and China–Mexico relations, 2018–2025

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22417543
AutoresEduardo Tzili Apango (0000-0002-8394-1767, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Páginas1-25
Fecha de publicación2026-07-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCambridge Review of International Affairs (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0955-7571 • E-ISSN: 1474-449X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09557571.2026.2700026
OpenAlexW7168049087
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas28

This article examines Mexico’s relations with China between 2018 and 2025 in the context of intensifying United States-China strategic competition. It uses Discreet Realism as a realist-informed analytical lens to interpret the strategic logic underlying Mexico’s foreign economic and diplomatic behavior. Drawing on realist theory and a qualitative interpretive analysis, the article argues that Mexico has pursued a strategy of selective engagement, low-visibility diplomacy, and disciplined signaling aimed at extracting economic and developmental benefits from China while minimizing geopolitical exposure vis-à-vis the United States. Empirically, the study analyzes trade patterns, investment dynamics, diplomatic signaling, and sector-specific cooperation, showing that Mexico’s engagement with China has expanded in economically meaningful yet politically compartmentalised ways, alongside a reinforced anchoring in North American production networks under the USMCA. Theoretically, the article conceptualises Discreet Realism as a bounded variant of hedging under conditions of asymmetric interdependence with a geographically proximate dominant power, where diversification occurs through low-visibility statecraft.

Anchoring · China · Geopolitics · International relations · International relations theory · Realism · Herbal Medicine and Trade Cooperation · International Relations and Foreign Policy · International Relations in Latin America

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