Mexico and China look to trade away old rivalry No longer pure competitors but not quite partners, the two countries are moving toward an expanded trade relationship that could ultimately benefit the United States by boosting U.S. exports and keeping cheap imports flowing to U.S. consumers. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's recent trip to China, coming just four months into his term, has been viewed here as a smart overture aimed at mending ties between two nations that have often been at odds over trade issues. Mexico resisted China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, and its share of the U.S. import market started slumping soon after. Now that trend is in reverse. Mexico accounts for a growing portion of U.S. imports, and China's slice of the $2.7 trillion market has narrowed. Those tendencies are likely to continue, economists say, as several new studies show that Mexican manufacturing costs are now lower than China's when factors such as shipping and energy prices are taken into account. "They started out as rivals, because there was a bull rush to China and Mexico lost out," said Barry Lawrence, director of the Global Supply Chain Laboratory at Texas A&M University. But Mexico is now the more competitive of the two. "That implies direct competition, but the reality is that the two will be looking at building optimal supply chains," Lawrence said. There will be a lot of business in China, but a lot of it will come through Mexico. Items such as washing machines, cars, computers and farm equipment can start as components in China that are assembled in Mexico and finished in the United States before reaching American consumers. If companies can take advantage of each country's manufacturing strengths, the result will be quality products at the lowest-possible prices, analysts say. Enormous opportunity Likewise, the United States and Mexico can find new fuel for economic growth and help each other reduce their gaping trade deficits with China by working together to sell more goods to the swelling Chinese middle class. Mexican poultry and pork raised on U.S. grains can feed Chinese consumers. Cars made jointly by Mexican and U.S. auto plants can cater to China's seemingly boundless demand for automobiles. In recent years, Mexico has accumulated an even bigger trade imbalance with China than the United States, importing nine times as much as it sends across the Pacific. The U.S. deficit is closer to 4 to 1. But if Peña Nieto's trip can serve as an opening, China can be "a land of enormous opportunity if handled right," said Duncan Wood, the director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. China is a market that is untapped for Mexican business.