China’s expanding presence in Mexico is altering the country’s economic, technological, and security landscape. This presents a complex mix of legitimate investment and illicit networks, raising urgent questions about Mexico’s sovereignty and vulnerability.
The deepening relationship between China and Mexico is a study in contrasts: a boom in economic cooperation and technological exchange, overshadowed by the emergence of illicit networks that blur the lines between state-sanctioned business and transnational crime. As Beijing’s influence extends from infrastructure to digital surveillance, security experts warn that Mexico’s strategic location has made it a crucial battleground for Chinese ambitions that go far beyond trade.
A relationship in three acts
“The Mexico-China relationship has gone through three phases. In the 1990s, the link was limited; in the 2010s, technological and infrastructure cooperation emerged, although several projects failed,” Armando Rodríguez Luna, a member of the Mexican consulting firm Nzaya, which specializes in security, law, and international governance, told Diálogo. “Today, trade and technology dominate the relationship, while Chinese influence creates strategic risks for Mexico.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which maintains absolute political control and high secrecy, makes it difficult to ascertain which business entities are linked to the Party and how strategic decisions are made, Rodríguez Luna said. “In Latin America, Beijing seeks to extend its political-military influence, and Mexico is a strategic area because of its location,” he added.
The expanding economic network
In recent years, Chinese companies — which operate under the ultimate authority of the CCP — have increased their presence in Mexican critical infrastructure and advanced surveillance systems, Americas Quarterly indicated in a report.
Industrial parks and logistics projects have become platforms for the expansion of Chinese manufacturing, with the number of these companies reportedly doubling in the last three years. This investment is concentrated in northern industrial hubs like Nuevo León and Baja California, driven by major players in the automotive (such as BYD), electronics (Hisense), and heavy machinery (including Lingong Machinery Group) sectors.
This expansion includes investments in the modernization of the Mexico City and Monterrey metro systems. In addition, Mexican dependence is growing structurally, as domestic airlines increasingly lease aircraft from subsidiaries of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co.
An analysis by international research firm Rhodium Group estimates that China’s direct investment in Mexico could be six times higher than officially reported. Much of this capital is channeled through offshore financial centers such as Hong Kong, complicating transparency and regulatory oversight.
The case of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) illustrates these risks. The company, which was debarred by the World Bank from 2011 until 2017 for fraudulent practices, won the contract for section 1 of the Maya Train (a segment now completed and operational) as part of a consortium. The consortium was led by the Portuguese company Mota-Engil whose involvement was essential as it provided the legitimate financial and legal channel through which the capital was funneled.
“China’s diversification in Mexico seeks to strengthen ties and protect its interests, replicating a model applied in Peru and, to a lesser extent, Brazil,” explained Rodríguez Luna. “This expansion allows it to increase its influence over key actors and resources in Mexico.”
The double-edged sword of technology
The digital economy and sectors relying on advanced technology are also seeing a growing Chinese presence. Americas Quarterly warns that companies linked to the Chinese technology apparatus, such as Huawei, Dahua, and Hikvision, operate in Mexico by providing government surveillance equipment and critical telecommunications infrastructure, increasing the risks of digital vulnerability.
Huawei faces widespread international restrictions due to consensus among several governments and security experts worldwide regarding suspicions of espionage and its potential impact on critical infrastructure.
The criminal connection
As trade between Mexico and China grows, so does the involvement of Chinese actors in illicit activities. Drug trafficking, money laundering, and wildlife trafficking networks are expanding their presence within the Mexican criminal ecosystem, according to the U.S. research center Brookings Institution.
“Many chemical companies in China legally produce precursors, but some are diverted to clandestine fentanyl production,” Rodríguez Luna said. “These inputs travel via massive and diversified maritime routes from Chinese ports, mixing with legitimate cargo, making it difficult to trace their origin.”
To conceal traceability, criminal organizations use fictitious companies, registrations in third countries, and flags of convenience between China and Mexico. Upon arrival, shipments are integrated into opaque logistics chains that obscure their real origin. “Chinese shipping routes and commercial opacity are the key vectors of illicit trafficking,” Rodríguez Luna added.
Chinese financial networks also facilitate money laundering, strengthening the global operation of Mexican drug trafficking. Fentanyl and its precursors enter Mexico hidden as commercial cargo through the strategic ports of Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas, evading customs controls, Reuters reported.
“Although there are no known investigations linking Chinese financiers to money laundering in Mexico, it cannot be ruled out,” Rodríguez Luna said. “When China took back Hong Kong, the most important thing was to gain access to the financial complex inherited from the British Empire, which was key to its global economic projection.”
A striking example of the connection between these networks and organized crime is Zhi Dong Zhang, alias Brother Wang, a Chinese citizen and key figure in the supply of precursors to the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. After escaping from house arrest in Mexico City in July 2025, he was recaptured in Cuba in October, handed over to Mexico, and subsequently transferred for extradition to the United States, El País reported.
In September 2025, a coordinated operation between the United States and Panama in Pacific waters resulted in the seizure of 13,000 barrels of chemical precursors intended for methamphetamine production. The shipment, originating from Chinese ports and destined for the Sinaloa Cartel, contained benzyl alcohol and N-methylformamide, Infobae reported.
Months earlier, in December 2024, the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) seized some 25 tons of precursors in the port of Manzanillo, hidden in an unlicensed container. The find confirmed the growing use of Chinese shipping routes to supply synthetic drug production in Mexico, SEMAR reported.
Wildlife as currency
The wildlife trade between Mexico and China serves as a channel for moving value and evading financial controls in both countries. These operations combine legal and illegal trafficking to facilitate money laundering and conceal illicit flows, the Brookings Institution indicated in its report.
The bladder of the totoaba fish, highly prized in China, illustrates how Mexican cartels use protected species and natural resources — such as wood, sea cucumbers, sharks, jaguars, and reptiles — to pay for Chinese chemical precursors and launder illicit profits with wide margins, El Economista reported.
This criminal exchange strengthens ties between Asian and Mexican organizations, while accelerating the degradation of Mexico’s unique ecosystems and bringing numerous species to the brink of extinction, the daily detailed.
The path to sovereignty
“Mexico needs to develop its own capabilities to protect its sovereignty, critical infrastructure, and maritime and air surveillance, avoiding dependence on Chinese companies,” Rodríguez Luna said. “While building its national technology, it can rely on reliable foreign equipment and systems, such as those from the United States, to maintain security and strategic operations.”
In addition, “it urgently needs to combat corruption and impunity, as vulnerable politicians facilitate the infiltration of foreign actors, including China,” Rodríguez Luna concluded.
