Because they belong to the North American Free Trade Area, Mexico is equivalent to the United States. For many years, Mexico, especially the border area between Mexico and the United States, has become a paradise for Chinese investment. Although the financial crisis has changed everything, as long as we survive the crisis, Chinese in Mexico may usher in more business opportunities.
It's far away from heaven and close to America
On the 3000 kilometer long U.S. - Mexico border, the U.S. side will capture more than 3000 stowaways every day. Although the U.S. government has invested sophisticated equipment and sufficient manpower, it still can't stop the tide of smuggling across the U.S. - Mexico border. The reason is that, as the former president of Mexico said, Mexico is far away from heaven, but very close to the United States.
Mexico and the United States are neighbors to each other. Although there are conflicts on illegal immigration, agricultural subsidies and other issues, they do not affect the broad common interests of the two countries. As early as 1994, Mexico, together with the United States and Canada, established the North American Free Trade Area. The United States is its largest trading partner, investor and creditor.
Mexican officials always like to introduce their country to investors like this: by strengthening direct investment in Mexico, enterprises can not only coordinate the trade friction between the investing countries and the United States, but also enter Latin American countries smoothly. We can use the free trade agreement signed by Mexico to enter the huge international market. Currently, Mexico has signed 12 free trade agreements with 43 countries and regions in the world through bilateral and multilateral negotiations. At the same time, Mexico is also the first country to conclude free trade agreements with North America and the European Union. If enterprises make direct investment in Mexico, they can enjoy the preferential treatment of the free trade agreements reached between Mexico and 43 countries and regions all over the world, and smoothly enter the markets of these countries
One of the key factors to attract investors is that Mexico is close to the United States. The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has made economic exchanges with the United States as convenient as a state in the United States. Doing business in Mexico can smoothly enter the markets of the United States and Canada, with low transportation and trade costs.
"Chinatown" on the border between the United States and Mexico
How can capable and diligent Chinese ignore this special relationship between the United States and Mexico? Tijuana city is one of the best representatives.
Tijuana is located in the northwest corner of Mexico's lower California, just a wall away from the city of San Diego in the United States. Because of its special geographical location, it has created a special living environment here. Most of the local residents have relatives and friends in the United States, and some own real estate in San Diego and Los Angeles, two hours away. Every day, especially at the peak of the growth of cars on and off the border. Many Mexicans work in the United States in the morning and return to live in Mexico in the evening.
Tijuana is also the most concentrated area of Chinese in Mexico, with about 240000 Chinese. Most of the local overseas Chinese come from Enping, Taishan, Kaiping and Zhongshan. The history of overseas Chinese in Tijuana can be traced back to 1907. The peak of overseas Chinese in Tijuana was in 1978. After 2000, a large number of overseas Chinese came to Tijuana. At present, the local overseas Chinese are mainly engaged in the restaurant industry. Tijuana city with a population of 1.3 million has more than 200 Chinese restaurants.
The governor of Mexico's lower California, Jos é Guadalupe ausuna Milian, has emphasized more than once that overseas Chinese are regarded as pioneers and pioneers of the state capital of Mexicali. It is precisely because more than 100 years ago, Chinese immigrants brought water to open up wasteland in Mexicali, which was still a desert at that time, that they have achieved today's prosperity. It is no exaggeration to say that in Mexico, when people refer to Mexicali, they associate it with Chinese.
Chinese in lower California not only created wealth, but also brought Chinese traditional culture here. Mexican city government even takes Chinese food as a business card of local tourism. The hardworking and law-abiding of the Chinese have also been affirmed by the local people. Rudolf Valdez, mayor of Mexicali, said that Chinese groups are very organized and low-key, with almost no criminal record. They are hardworking and create a lot of local jobs.
Speaking about the overseas Chinese around him, Rudolph Valdez said that from primary school to university, there are many Chinese classmates around him. His brother-in-law is also of Chinese origin. "In our city, it is not new to eat, shop or even get married with Chinese people. Chinese people have become one of us."
Diversification of new Chinese business
With the progress of the times, the career of Chinese in Tijuana has also begun to show a trend of diversified development. Some overseas Chinese, especially the educated and educated young overseas Chinese, have begun to set foot in real estate, finance, department stores, medicine and health, tourism and other industries.
Zhang Lingyun, the president of Kirin Group, which is called "Zhang bold" by Mexican Chinese businessmen, went to Mexico in 1991. By 1994, he had his own trading company and the largest Chinese shopping mall in Mexico. He imported goods from China and the United States and sold them in Mexico. Despite a series of twists and turns in the process of starting a business, Zhang Lingyun resolutely opened up traditional Chinese medicine, agriculture, tourism and other industries in Mexico, established the only legal Hospital of traditional Chinese medicine in Mexico so far, obtained the only Chinese medicine license and Chinese herbal medicine import license approved by Mexico, held the first China Agricultural Machinery Exhibition in Mexico, and successfully integrated China's agricultural machinery industry The product was promoted to Mexico.
According to Zhang Lingyun, Mexico is the "bridgehead" for China to enter North America and Latin America.
Sino Mexican relations ensure the development of Chinese businessmen
In the words of Jorge Guajardo, Mexico's ambassador to China, "the relationship between China and Mexico is now in the best period in history." "We all believe that economic and trade cooperation between China and Mexico will be win-win," he said
Jorge Guajardo predicts that Chinese entrepreneurs will soon be able to see the benefits and convenience of investing in Mexico. "Now Lenovo has noticed that," he said. Lenovo Group has invested in a factory in Mexico, and in a short time, this factory has become the fourth largest enterprise in Mexico. Through this example, I hope that more Chinese entrepreneurs can capture this advantage of Mexico as soon as possible. "
"We know that there are some countries in the world who are conservative and refuse to invest in China. But for Mexico, our investment in China will be unreserved, and we will open our arms to the Chinese people, both in investment and tourism. I hope we can achieve this cooperation and win-win situation. " Jorge Guajardo is full of confidence in the prospect of cooperation between China and Mexico.
Although the overseas Chinese in Mexico have been greatly impacted by the financial crisis and the proliferation of drugs, it is believed that with the passing of the financial crisis, the overseas Chinese in Mexico will usher in a new development cycle.
因为同属北美自由贸易区，到了墨西哥就等于到了美国。多年来，墨西哥尤其是墨美边境地区，因此成为华人投资的天堂。虽然金融危机改变了一切，但是，只要熬过危机，在墨华人也许会迎来更多的商机。
离天堂很远 离美国很近
在长达3000公里的美墨边境线上，美国方面每天会抓获超过3000名偷渡客。尽管美国政府投入了精良的装备和充分的人力，还是挡不住美墨边境的偷渡潮。究其原因，一切正如墨西哥前总统说的那样： 墨西哥离天堂很远，离美国却很近。
墨西哥与美国互为邻国，虽然在非法移民、农业补贴等问题上时有摩擦，但不影响两国广泛的共同利益。早在1994年，墨西哥和美国、加拿大一起缔造了北美自由贸易区，美国更是其最大的贸易伙伴、投资国和债权国。
墨西哥官员总爱向投资者这样介绍他们的国度：企业加强对墨西哥的直接投资，既可以协调投资国同美国在贸易上的摩擦，又可以顺利地进入拉美国家。可以利用墨西哥签订的自由贸易协定进入巨大的国际市场。目前，墨西哥通过双边及多边谈判的方式与世界上43个国家和地区签订了12个自由贸易协定，同时墨西哥也是第一个与北美和欧盟达成自由贸易协定的国家。企业在墨西哥进行直接投资，可以享受墨西哥与全世界43个国家及地区所达成的自由贸易协定的优惠，顺利地进入这些国家的市场……
这其中吸引投资者的最关键一条是：墨西哥紧邻美国，北美自由贸易协定的签订，使得其在与美国的经济交往上，如同美国一个州一样方便；在墨西哥做生意，就可以顺利地进入美国及加拿大市场，运输和贸易成本很低。
美墨边境的“唐人城”
精干而又勤奋的华人怎么会忽视美墨所拥有的这种特殊关系？蒂华纳城就是最好的代表之一。
蒂华纳位于墨西哥下加州的西北角，与美国的圣迭哥市仅一墙之隔。由于其特殊的地理位置，造就了这里特殊的生活环境。当地大部分居民在美国有亲友，有些还在圣迭哥及2小时车程外的美国洛杉矶市拥有房产。边境线上每天进出关口的汽车排成长龙，尤其是上下班的高峰。很多墨西哥人早晨到美国打工，晚上回到墨西哥居住。
蒂华纳也是墨西哥华人最集中的地区，约有24万名华人。当地华侨多来自广东恩平、台山、开平、中山一带。蒂华纳华侨华人的历史可上溯到1907年，其中1978年是华侨到蒂华纳的高峰，2000年后又有大批华人到该地。当地华侨华人目前主要从事餐馆业，130万人口的蒂华纳城拥有200多家中餐厅。
墨西哥下加州州长何塞·瓜达卢佩·奥苏纳·米连还不止一次地强调说，人们视华侨华人为州府墨西卡利市的开拓者和先驱，正是因为100多年前华人移民在当时还是荒漠的墨西卡利引水开荒才有了今日的繁荣。不夸张地说，在墨西哥，人们提到墨西卡利就会联想到华人。
华人在下加州不仅创造了财富，更是把中国传统文化带到了这里。墨西卡利市政府甚至将中餐作为当地旅游业的一张名片。华人的勤劳守法也得到了当地人的肯定。墨西卡利市长鲁道夫·瓦尔德斯表示，华人团体很有组织，也很低调，几乎没有犯罪纪录。他们勤劳，也为当地创造了很多就业岗位。
鲁道夫·瓦尔德斯在谈到自己身边的华侨华人时说，从小学到大学，身边的华人同学为数不少，他的姐夫也是一名华裔。“在我们的城市，与华人一起吃饭、购物甚至结婚已不是新鲜的事情，华人已经成为我们中的一分子。”
新华商事业多样化
随着时代前进的步伐，蒂华纳华人的事业也开始呈多样化发展趋势，一些侨胞特别是有文化有知识的年轻侨胞，开始涉足房地产、金融、百货、医药卫生、旅游等行业。
被墨西哥华商称作“张大胆”的墨西哥麒麟集团公司的总裁张凌云，1991年辗转赴墨西哥，到了1994年，他已经有了属于自己的一家贸易公司和墨西哥最大的华人商场，从中国、美国进口商品，在墨西哥出售。虽然创业过程中也经历了一系列坎坷曲折，但张凌云还是毅然在当地开拓了中医、农业、旅游等行业，成立了墨西哥至今唯一合法的中医院，取得了墨西哥唯一批准的中医执照和中草药进口许可证，举办了墨西哥第一届中国农业机械展览会，成功地将中国的农机产品推广到墨西哥。
在“张凌云们”看来，墨西哥是中国进入北美及拉丁美洲的“桥头堡”。
中墨关系保证华商发展
用墨西哥驻华大使豪尔赫·瓜哈尔多的话来说，“现在中国和墨西哥的关系正处于历史上最好的时期。”他说：“我们都认为，中墨之间的经贸合作将是合作共赢的。”
豪尔赫·瓜哈尔多预言，中国的企业家们将能够很快地看到在墨西哥投资的好处和便利条件。他说：“现在联想集团已经注意到这一点。联想集团在墨西哥投资了一个工厂，在很短的时间内，这个工厂就成为墨西哥的第四大企业。通过这个事例，希望更多的中国企业家能尽快捕捉到墨西哥的这一优势。”
“我们知道在世界上有一些国家，他们对中国的投资持保守、拒绝的态度。但对于墨西哥来说，我们对中国的投资将无所保留，我们将会向无论是投资还是旅游的中国人张开怀抱。我希望我们能够实现这个合作和共赢。”豪尔赫·瓜哈尔多对中墨的合作前景信心满满。
虽然因为金融危机和毒品泛滥，使在墨西哥的华侨华人受到了不小的冲击，但相信随着金融危机的过去，在墨华人将迎来一个新的发展周期。