麻豆约拍

Mexico's hope of becoming the workshop of North America was shattered by China's domination of cheap exports. But recently, the Mexican dream is in sight again. As Beijing opts for "quality not quantity" of growth, companies are returning to Mexico, drawn by competitive labour and proximity to the US market. In the second episode of a landmark series, economist Jim O'Neill travels across Mexico to investigate. He discovers that its ambitions now go far beyond cheap manufacturing. But can Mexico's youthful, reforming government overcome the challenges of widespread poverty, crime and a huge number of people living outside the formal economy?

(Picture: Employees work at a production line before the opening of Nissan's new plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Credit: Reuters/Henry Romero)