Mexican president meets Chinese counterpart during G20 summit in Brazil

MEXICO CITY

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum met with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday during the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Mexican leader, who shared on her social media her day at the summit, said that her country prioritizes international cooperation in trade, energy, and economic recovery.

During the international forum, Sheinbaum held a conversation with Xi and thanked the Chinese leader's support following Hurricane Otis's landfall on Mexico's western coast in Acapulco, Guerrero, on October 2023.

"On the occasion of the G20 Leaders' Summit, we spoke with the President of China, Xi Jinping. I thanked him for all the support in the recovery of Acapulco through the production and delivery of household goods," Sheinbaum wrote on X.

Hurricane Otis severely impacted Acapulco, a renowned tourist hotspot, with some estimates reaching up to 350 deaths and 187,000 forceful displacements.

In November 2023, the Chinese government donated $100,000 to cover the expenses for goods necessary for the hurricane victims. The Chinese community and companies established in Mexico also rushed to donate to the affected.

Moreover, then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced in January that the first shipment of household supplies had arrived from China – a shipment of 107 containers transporting 9,016 refrigerators and 3,930 stoves arrived in the western coastline of Mexico.

This first shipment was part of an agreement between the Mexican government and China to purchase 59,592 refrigerators and 34,132 stoves.

Sheinbaum also met with her North American allies and largest trading partners: outgoing US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with who she discussed the shared border with the US and the relevance of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.