Beijing, China – Mexican Ambassador to China Jorge Eugenio Guajardo spoke Monday with students from Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University as part of events marking 40 years of bilateral relations between Mexico and the Asian giant.

“The ambassador was very open and although more real figures were needed in the political, industrial, and social development areas, I believe it is very good for a high-level official to come and speak with us and give us another view of Mexico,” said Jorge Rodriguez, a Mexican student there working toward a master’s in mechanical engineering.

Ruben Dario Favela, a student at the university studying Mandarin Chinese said, "He talked about issues like drugs, arms, quality of life, among others, and he did not dodge questions with thorny answers.”

The discussion at the university provided “an excellent opportunity to talk about the reality that Mexico faces in China,” a country where the goal is always to increase interest in Mexico," the ambassador stated.

“I know the ambassadors from Hungary and Germany have already passed through here, and the ambassador from Brazil is coming soon, and it seems to me a very good way of presenting the current world reality to the students,” Guajardo said.

The seminar attended by the ambassador, titled “NAFTA, NATO and China: Mexican Perceptions," also included a discussion of Mexican diplomacy and the personal experiences of the diplomat.

China is currently Mexico’s No. 2 trade partner, while Mexico holds the same ranking in terms of Chinese trade with Latin America.

Bilateral trade, according to official Chinese figures, totaled $30.45 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, with China’s exports to Mexico reaching $21.91 billion, while imports from that country totaled just $8.53 billion; a big trade deficit for Mexico.

“We are trying to introduce more Mexican products to the Chinese market, such as food, and we are trying to find more Chinese investment for Mexico. We are at the same time trying to spur Chinese tourism, which does not influence trade, but is a way of balancing the scales,” Guajardo said.

“Tsinghua’s Conversations with the Ambassadors” is a series of seminars organized by the university’s Department of International Relations.

Tsinghua University has a Mexican Student and Alumni Association that seeks to “bring together Tsinghua alumni in different fields to participate in activities and create a common agenda that benefits both nations,” association co-founder and international relations graduate student Victor Cadena said.