Mexico's former ambassador to China explains 'how China capitalizes where the United States is retreating' by Christopher Woody on Mar 28, 2018, 11:19 AM Advertisement
 Jorge Guajardo was one of Mexico's longest-serving ambassadors to China, serving from June 2007 to April 2013. His time there took him each of the country's provinces, witnessing first-hand the country's rapid growth and important transfers of power, as well as visits by two Mexican presidents with two Chinese presidents. Prior to being appointed to his post in China by President Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party, he was consul general in Austin, Texas, a position for which President Vicente Fox, also of the PAN, selected him in 2005. From 1997 to 2000, he was press secretary and communications director for Fernando Canales Clariond, then the PAN governor of Nuevo Leon state. In the years between and since he has held government relations and public-affairs positions in the US, including his current work at McLarty Associates, and remains active in Mexico politics. Business Insider sat down with Guajardo in mid-March to discuss the outlook for the US and China, and how Beijing sees itself and the world. The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity: SEE ALSO: Countries in Asia are wary of China — and they're 'wondering exactly how far America would go' 'Without a doubt China is rising, but I don't think China is replacing the United States.'  Christopher Woody: The general sense a lot of people have, across the political spectrum, is that the US is maintaining the status quo or declining in relative power while China is rising in relative power, and I wanted to ask you, having spent a lot of time in both countries, do you think that's a fair assessment? Is that the trajectory? Jorge Guajardo: I don't think the United States is declining. I think without a doubt China is rising, but I don't think China is replacing the United States necessarily. I just think that the United States is losing some of its influence, particularly as it portrays itself abroad through its values. As it stops doing that, it's losing influence abroad, and ... there is no exodus of countries trying to become more like China the way they aspire to be more like the United States, so in that sense I don't think China is replacing the United States. But certainly it is taking advantage of situations in which the United States would have a certain dominance in the past, and now, as they retreat from the world, China sort of capitalizes [on] those opportunities.
'These countries are less prone to listen to the United States.'  Woody: You say the US is kind of pulling back from projecting its values the way it has in the past, so are other countries embracing China or are they seeing the US back away and looking to make their own path? Guajardo: I think much of what gave the US sway in the world was its values, what it stood for. It was sort of aspirational, and that in many cases, for instance, that entailed that when a US company was doing business abroad, of course a US company would have certain restraints due to [the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]. They're not allowed to engage in corrupt acts, and oftentimes they would be put at a disadvantage against European or Chinese competitors who were more lax in their standards, but the United States could always appeal through their embassies or through their diplomats to that higher calling of the United States, in which [there was] merit-based competition, and more often than not, that would be enough to help the United States overcome that handicap, if you will. I mean, I don't think it's a handicap, but that restriction in not being able to engage in corruption. As the United States stops putting an emphasis [on values], and as the United States embraces more of an American First [policy], or calls other countries by names that we've heard, I think these countries are less prone to listen to the United States and take the United States as the aspirational country, which doesn't mean they're going to go and try to be like China. It just means that when China comes to them, they're not as reluctant to engage as they would've been the past.
'Oftentimes their offers are better than the United States.'  Guajardo: I'll give you an example: telecommunications. There was, I think for a long time there was sort of a unwritten agreement that countries aligned with the United States, particularly in this hemisphere, would defer to the United States in terms of how to build their telecommunications infrastructure, so Huawei would come to Mexico and want ... to do its infrastructure, and there would be certain pushback on behalf of Mexico, because the agreement was that we could do that in coordination with the United States — not necessarily reserve the sector for a US company, because many of them are European, but it was in essence a US-sanctioned company, if you will ... that is no longer there, as the United States sort of starts pulling away and saying it doesn't care as much about the rest of the world. It gives certain leeway. So that doesn't mean Mexico's going to align itself with China. That doesn't mean we're going to aspire to be like China. That doesn't mean our future is with China. It just means that when China comes to Mexico, we just say, "OK, fine ... tell us what you're offering," and oftentimes their offers are better than the United States, so that's how China capitalizes where the United States is retreating.
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