The White House focused part of its strategy against China on low- and middle-income countries, according to its 2025 National Security Strategy.

Its only two references to Mexico are included in related lines of action on this point.

The United States and China are engaged in fierce competition in the commercial, technological, and economic fields.

Strategy against China 

In that document, the White House notes that China adapted to the change in U.S. tariff policy that began in 2017, in part by strengthening its control over supply chains, especially in low- and middle-income countries (i.e., those with a GDP per capita of $13,800 or less), which are among the biggest economic battlegrounds of the coming decades. 

Chinese exports to low-income countries doubled between 2020 and 2024. 

To a greater extent, the White House portrays a Chinese economy with restrictive trade practices, state subsidies, and persistent imbalances. It also highlights China’s dominant role in strategic supply chains and the urgency of adjusting the bilateral relationship to ensure fair competition and global economic stability.

In its 2025 National Security Strategy, the White House states that the United States indirectly imports Chinese products through intermediaries and factories built by China in a dozen countries, including Mexico. 

Chinese exports to low-income countries are now almost four times greater than its exports to the United States. When President Trump took office in 2017, Chinese exports to the United States accounted for 4 percent of its GDP, but have since declined to just over 2 percent. However, China continues to export to the United States through other intermediary countries.

Growing market

U.S. First diplomacy seeks to rebalance global trade relations. “We have made clear to our allies that the U.S. current account deficit is unsustainable,” the document says. 

The White House indicates that the United States should encourage Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and other major nations to adopt trade policies that help rebalance the Chinese economy toward domestic consumption, as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East cannot absorb China’s enormous excess capacity on their own. 

From their perspective, exporting nations in Europe and Asia may also view middle-income countries as a limited but growing market for their exports.

Desde su visión, las naciones exportadoras de Europa y Asia también pueden considerar a los países de ingresos medios como un mercado limitado, pero en crecimiento, para sus exportaciones.