Fox urges US investors to look to Mexico, not China

Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday urged US investors to look to Mexico, not Asia, for investment opportunities, saying "not everything that shines is gold in relation to China."
In the second visit of his presidency to the US Midwest - home to more than 2 million people of Mexican origin and a destination for many immigrants - Fox extolled Mexico's economic stability that he said offered benefits that China could not.
Citing Mexico's capital market that finances 60 percent of domestic projects there, Fox said: "This is a unique competitive advantage that you will not find in China. You have to come with your portfolio of money to invest in China."
"Not everything that shines is gold in relation to China," Fox told a US-Mexican business group. "Mexico offers the same or better opportunities for investment."
From the viewpoint of some displaced American workers, China, Mexico and other low-wage nations have all siphoned off US jobs.
An announcement would come shortly that would offer a "vision for the next 10 years" for the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Fox implied needed sprucing up. He said the three North American trading partners - Mexico, the United States and Canada - have all been losing jobs to Asia, especially China.
"Now we must join forces," he said. "We must integrate strategically to make (North America) not only the largest market but the most competitive and stable partnership that exists in the world."
Fox paid homage to Mexicans working in the United States, who number from 10 million to 13 million depending on the estimate and who repatriated $13.3 billion to relatives in Mexico last year.
By some estimates, 5 million Mexicans are in the United States illegally.
Preceding Fox's visit, he renewed a proposal to allow Mexicans in the United States to vote in Mexico's elections without having to return home.
If it were to be passed by Mexico's Congress experts say it could result in only a few thousand votes or as many as 1 million.
Fox, in a visit to Chicago three years ago, focused on immigrant rights including seeking amnesty for illegal immigrants.
This time, he made a passing reference to asking all US states to offer drivers' licenses to Mexicans here illegally, but made little mention of other immigrant rights.