China and Mexico ties are just getting hot

The Mexican ambassador to China, Jose Luis Bernal Rodriguez, can talk like a food connoisseur.

He can tell how tacos, Mexico's iconic food, are made and taste differently in Mexico City and the country's northwestern states, where he grew up.

He can give you a full recipe for Mexican rice and salsa in mouth-watering details that would persuade you to add them to your home kitchen.

He'd recommend a Mexico City-based restaurant that serves about 70 rice dishes and is hardly found in tourist guide books.

If a reporter cites wrong data about the food and beverage industry, he'll gently correct you for example, by telling you that Mexico, not Germany, is the world's largest beer exporter.

With the Mexican embassy's pride in their cuisine, it's no surprise that the embassy promotes food-themed festivals all year around, including the Hot and Spicy Festival organized by The Beijinger.

Adding more Mexican flavor to the festival, La Costena, a household name in the country known for its chili pepper products, was the sponsor.

Noting that China also celebrates its own spicy culture with famous Sichuan cuisine, the ambassador said, "We'd like to promote that kind of traditional Mexico food by promoting such kind of festivals."

"Chili is very good for health. You have to know how to eat it to not burn yourself," he said.

"So we promote it all together as Mexican food, Mexican culture. Then when you see the sombrero, the tequila, you start to dance," he added.

People who have visited Mexico know that what the ambassador said is a vivid portrayal of a typical Mexican fiesta.

But the majority of Chinese people haven't had such a travel experience.

Mexico, among the top 10 destinations in international tourism, received 40 million people in 2018, but among them, only 170,000 Chinese.

The country plans to receive 1.5 million Chinese tourists every year. That's a big leap.

The Mexican Embassy is taking many measures to attract more Chinese tourists, according to the ambassador. It's working with specialists in China to understand how the tourism market is developing, increasing air connectivity, expanding consular services and facilitating visas.

Noting that the year 2019 marks the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the ambassador said he's always kept a close eye on China's great changes.

His connections with China date back to decades ago during his college years in the 1970s when he took some courses about Chinese society. In the 1980s he was in charge of economic relations with China.

With the ambassador a China expert, the embassy has expanded bilateral exchanges with businesses and in food, travel and art.

Ladron Galeria, an advant-guarde gallery in Mexico known for its young artists inspired by changes between the country's pre-colonial civilizations, Spanish conquest and modern society, has been invited to Art Beijing in May, representing the vibrant art scene in Mexico, which has much more to offer than Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera.