Mexico can benefit from Chinese economic slowdown, Lopez Obrador says

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A slowdown in China's economy this year should allow Mexico to attract more investment, lure companies and create jobs, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday.

Speaking at a regular government news conference, Lopez Obrador pointed to forecasters' expectations that China's economy will post its weakest growth in years in 2020 amid disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

"That means this big factory, the biggest factory in the world, will reduce its output," he said, referring to China. "And this gives us the opportunity, Mexico, for more investment to arrive, for companies to set up, for jobs to be created."

Lopez Obrador noted that the sealing of the new North American trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), would help spur business with the United States.

Mexican business leaders hope the USMCA, which goes into effect on July 1, as well as ongoing tensions between the United States and China, will spur more investment inside the North American region, benefiting Mexico.