China’s malign interference is showing itself in Mexico

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Mexico this week. Topics on the agenda include dismantling the cartels, halting fentanyl trafficking, ending illegal migration, reducing the trade deficit and countering malign extracontinental actors.

But although not mentioned by name, China is the main and most powerful extracontinental actor in Mexico.

Criminals from China have been involved in Mexican money laundering. A report from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network states that, Chinese money laundering networks were involved in the handling of $312 billion between 2020 and 2024.

Chinese money laundering networks are global and pervasive. Andrea Gacki, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said networks launder proceeds for Mexico-based drug cartels and are involved in other significant underground money movement schemes within the U.S. and around the world.

Beijing has also been criticized for the export of chemical components used in fentanyl production in Mexico. Last July, Zhi Dong Zhang, a Chinese national allegedly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, escaped from house arrest in Mexico City. Miracle of miracles, the accused fled through a tunnel in his home just a day before he was to be extradited to the U.S.

Zhi, also known as “Brother Wang” and wanted by Interpol, was no minor fugitive. According to Mexican authorities, he was a key player and intermediary in distributing chemicals for the manufacture of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Investigations indicate that the Chinese national operated in the U.S., Latin America, China and Japan.

The telecommunications company Huawei, banned in the U.S. and several European countries for its alleged links to military espionage and the Chinese Communist Party, continues to operate in Mexico. Like other Chinese companies, it has a strong presence in port systems, airports and other critical Mexican infrastructure.

The U.S. has kept up its crusade against Huawei, citing risks of espionage and disruption. As a result, Panama has replaced much of its telecommunication’s equipment with U.S. technology, and the Spanish government recently canceled a multi-million-dollar contract involving Huawei because it raised alarm bells in Washington and Brussels.

Another issue that stands in the way of a strong relationship between Mexico and the U.S. is satellite space cooperation with China. It was recently reported that CAS Space launched a rocket that put satellites built by a Mexican company called ThumbSat into orbit.

For China, space is not just a matter of symbolism and soft power. This is a strategic sector of security and military competition with the U.S. Although China claims that all of its operations are for peaceful and technological purposes, there is a government scheme that establishes civil-military fusion. All technology from mainland China has a dangerous dual purpose. The U.S., in response to this growing concern, has announced plans to stablish a Space South Command to promote greater cooperation with its Latin American partners.

China sells a lot and buys little from Mexico. Between January and June of this year, Mexico exported $4.5 billion of goods into China, whereas the Asian country sold $62.1 billion into Mexico. Not only is this an unequal and disadvantageous situation for Mexico, but it also harms its trade relationship with its northern neighbor.

When the U.S. refers to extracontinental malign actors, it is not only talking about trade. China is the most dangerous and powerful extracontinental actor in the hemisphere, posing a broad threat in technology, organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and more.

To ignore or minimize the threats posed by China in Mexico would be naive, and failure to take action would be a serious mistake. The Rubio-Sheinbaum meeting will undoubtedly give special importance to these issues.

Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University’s Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course.