This aerial photo taken on Sept. 10, 2023 shows the exterior view of the first articulated light rail train customized by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd., for Mexico City, in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan Province. The first articulated light rail train customized by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. for Mexico City has rolled off the assembly line on Saturday. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo)

A growing number of Chinese firms have shown interest in direct investment in Mexico, which is building up its industry chains through the nearshoring model, thanks to the country's proximity to the US.

Experts warned that there is a potential threat that the US could put political pressure on normal trade and investment between China and Mexico, which more Chinese exporters are using as a transit port for re-exporting into the US market.

China's Lingong Machinery Group will establish an industrial park in Mexico's northern state of Nuevo Leon, which borders the US state of Texas, according to a statement on Monday.

The project, expected to involve $5 billion in investment, aims to create three industrial clusters designed for processing and manufacturing, warehousing and logistics and business support services, the company and government of the state of Nuevo Leon said.

Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said in a post on social media platform X that about 120 enterprises are expected to join the project and create more than 7,000 local jobs.

The first phase of the project is expected to be  completed in July next year. Enterprises in the park plan to recruit about 300 employees in Mexico and bring in about 30 employees from China.

Garcia is now paying an official visit to China and he has met with representatives of about 40 Chinese enterprises that have shown an interest in investing in Nuevo Leon.

Mexico is striving to attract foreign companies that want to shift their offshore operations closer to their customers in North America amid China-US geopolitical tensions, and Chinese firms are tapping into Mexico's nearshoring move to ship their products to the American market.

Under this model, China has become the No.1 source of direct investment in Mexico, followed by the US.

If Mexico fully capitalizes on the trend, its exports to the US could surge by about 38 percent in the coming years, according to a Barclays Plc report published last year.

Mexico stands out among emerging markets in luring Chinese investment due to its proximity to the US, low labor costs and well-developed transportation infrastructure, Jiang Shixue, director of the Center for Latin American Studies of Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Mexico is gaining traction for Chinese investment also because of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, under which businesses in Mexico can export goods to the US tariff-free if they meet requirements such as rules of origin.

In 2022, China's direct investment in Mexico rose 48 percent year-on-year, official data showed.

This trend has highlighted Mexico's importance as a strategic partner for Chinese businesses seeking to expand their presence in North America, particularly given the fraught ties between China and the US, Cui Fan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Cui warned about the possibility that the US could add political pressure on normal trade and investment between China and Mexico.

From August 16, Mexico raised import duties between 5-25 percent for goods under its 392 tax codes from the countries that have not signed free trade agreements with Mexico.

In response, He Yadong, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, said that "despite the fact that the measures taken by the Mexican authorities were not targeted against specific countries, they will, to a certain extent, affect trade and economic exchanges between China and Mexico."