China’s consul in Tijuana calls protectionism a ‘dead end’ as trade tensions with US escalate

China’s consul in Tijuana calls protectionism a ‘dead end’ as trade tensions with US escalateFu Xinrong pitched Beijing’s model of shared modernisation to Mexican business leaders, weeks before a contentious USMCA review3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 3:40am, 5 May 2026China’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 Mexico-Canada-agreement" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="18649" data-entity-type="organization">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.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x