COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY FOSTERING TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Eugenio José Reyes Guzman of WTC Monterrey noted, “Monterrey has taken advantage of the fact that there’s currently a trade war between the U.S. and China. We’re attracting Chinese companies to take advantage of the USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] and re-export to the U.S.” In just one example, Fuling Global, a Chinese producer and distributor of plastic and paper serviceware, opened a $4-million factory in Monterrey early in 2019 to circumvent business costs and trade risks from the U.S.-China trade war.22 Another part of this economic competition is China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has channeled billions in foreign direct investment into major infrastructure, logistics, and other sectors. According to Mehran Eftekar of WTC Cyprus, “The city of Gwadar, Pakistan, is well positioned to benefit from Belt and Road investment. China has earmarked an investment of $50 billion in order to upgrade the port to compete with the Jebel Ali port in Dubai, providing such an opportunity for Gwadar and the surrounding area.”
