DETROIT — In a move that highlights the shifting landscape of global auto production, Ford Motor said Tuesday that it would build its next-generation small car in China rather than in the United States or Mexico.

The decision underscores the potential for China to export more vehicles for sale to American buyers, and the reluctance of domestic automakers to invest in additional production in Mexico.

Ford currently builds its Focus compact car in Michigan, as well as in China and Europe.

Last year, the company said it planned to shift Focus production to a plant under construction in Mexico, primarily because of lower labor costs. But Ford canceled the project in January after it met stiff opposition from President Trump, who had repeatedly criticized the company for investing in Mexican jobs at the expense of American ones.

Now Ford, the nation’s second-largest automaker, after General Motors, is centralizing much of its small-car production in China, where it has available capacity.