China’s exports to developing markets have soared, opening indirect routes to the U.S. market that officials in Beijing worry may be closed under pressure from President Trump.

Officials in Beijing are increasingly worried that President Trump’s tariffs on Mexico may be the start of a broad campaign to force developing countries around the world to choose between trade with the United States or with China.

Ever since Mr. Trump imposed extensive tariffs on goods from China during his first term, companies have been investing heavily in countries like Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand to assemble Chinese components into goods for shipment to the United States. Doing final assembly in these countries offered a back door to the U.S. market regardless of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

China’s trade surplus with the United States has shrunk by almost a third since 2018. But Chinese exports to developing countries have skyrocketed. China now sells 11

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