Trump administration says China is ramping up US agricultural purchases ahead of Xi visit

The Trump administration on Wednesday said that China is on track to meet its agricultural purchase commitments, with the sector expected to feature prominently in the deliverables for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s talks in Washington later this month.

“China is ramping up their purchases,” said Luke Lindberg, the US Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). “We’re seeing that progress happen.”

Speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations event, Lindberg added that China is on track to buy US$17 billion worth of US agricultural products this year, in addition to soybeans, which he said would bring annual sales to US$30 billion.

He noted that China had already met its commitment to buy 12 million metric tonnes of US soybeans in the 2025 season and is “on track right now” to meet the agreed-upon target of 25 million metric tonnes this year.

In the run-up to Xi’s visit, USDA flash reports show a rise in soybean exports to China, crossing 700,000 metric tonnes in the first nine days of September.

The soybean deal was a key outcome of the trade truce reached in Busan, South Korea, last year and was expanded after another leaders’ meeting in May in Beijing to include China’s promise to buy at least US$17 billion worth of US agricultural products annually for the next three years.