Chinese factories in Mexico on thin ice, Xi-Biden talks and the surprise tiny EV hit: 7 reads about US-China relations

Struggling US-China ties, a human rights shock and a student in big trouble: these are the highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents from April 2024

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Chinese companies are opening factories in Mexico – but some have found themselves in a precarious position. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:01am, 2 May 2024Updated: 8:43am, 31 May 2024

We have selected seven of the biggest and most important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Chinese manufacturers in Mexico tread on thin ice amid threat of US barriers

“Keep a low profile.” Such was the advice often repeated by Chinese embassy officials in Mexico to the country’s Chinese-funded factories in April. The factories, however, did not need to be reminded. Warnings from the other side of Mexico’s northern border are more evident than ever, with the latest threat coming from Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in this year’s presidential election.

Read the full story here.

2. Xi-Biden phone call signals deepening disconnect on tech, economy: analysts

The first phone call in nearly two years between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden conveyed stability overall in a bilateral relationship previously marked by contention on all fronts, while also signalling a deepening disconnect on tech restrictions and economic disputes, analysts said. With both sides using “candid” and “constructive” as key descriptors for the talk – and expressing a willingness to build on a foundation laid down when the two leaders met face-to-face in November – they allowed space to air grievances diplomatically but in no uncertain terms.

Read the full story here.

3. Japanese PM Kishida backs ‘indispensable’ global role of US, citing threat by China

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave a full-throated defence of the United States’ international role as guardian of democracy to a rare joint session of Congress, citing the threat that China and other authoritarian states represent to the global order. “China’s current external stance and military actions present the unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, not only to the peace and security of Japan, but to the peace and stability of the international community at large,” Kishida said.