by Lloyd's List

18 March 2025 (Lloyd's List) - SEVEN Asian container liners have teamed up to launch a new route between Asia-Mexico as trade between China and Mexico continues to grow.

The new route will be operated by China’s Sinotrans Container Lines (Sinolines), Taiwan’s TS Lines, Singapore-based SeaLead Shipping and Emirates Shipping Line, Thailand’s Regional Container Lines, and South Korean carriers KMTC Line and Sinokor Merchant Marine together, TS Lines confirmed with Lloyd’s List.

The service will commence from April 30.

The seven lines will provide weekly service with a port rotation covering Shanghai and Qingdao in China, Busan in South Korea, Manzanillo in Mexico, before returning to Shanghai, according to TS Lines. The voyage will take 24 days from Shanghai to Mexico, and will be the only Mexico service calling at Busan old port.

This new route comes at a time of rapid expansion in China-Mexico trade. China’s exports to Mexico reached $90.23bn in 2024, an increase of $8.76bn from the previous year, marking a 10.8% year-on-year growth, which is nearly five times the value of Mexico’s exports to China, according to data from China’s customs authorities. Meanwhile, China’s imports from Mexico totalled $19.2bn last year, up 2.5% on $441m in 2023.

“The Asia-Mexico trade route is key to global supply chains, as Mexico serves as an assembly and manufacturing base for products for the North America region,” stated Bernd Meyer, Global Director of SeaLead.

Behind the booming China-Mexico trade, geopolitical undercurrents are at play. The US government has ramped up pressure on Mexico, urging it to block Chinese goods from entering the country as a backdoor to circumvent US tariffs.

Recently, the National Customs Agency of Mexico seized over MXN 300m ($15.05m) worth of Chinese goods in 33 containers. The move is seen as an olive branch to the US government, and it also appears to be probing Beijing’s response, an industry insider told Lloyd’s List.