President Donald Trump said China will purchase “tremendous” amounts of American soybeans following a meeting to hammer out a wide-ranging trade deal with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
China will start buying immediately, Trump said after a summit with Xi in South Korea on Thursday, without providing any additional details. The two countries have agreed to expand agricultural trade, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement, without making a specific reference to soybeans.
Soybeans in Chicago slid as much as 2.2% following the meeting — the biggest intraday decline in almost four months — before clawing back some losses. Futures rallied earlier in the week after US Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected China to makes “substantial” purchases of US supplies.
“I expect choppy markets to continue until we see actual cargoes purchased,” said Joe Davis, a director at brokerage Futures International LLC. The market was looking for commitments to buy 5 million-to-10 million tons to be announced following the summit, he added.
China had held off buying US soybeans, hurting American farmers while giving Beijing a key bargaining chip during trade talks. Just a day before the summit, China signaled some goodwill by making its first purchases of US supplies this season — a trade that was worth more than $12 billion last year.
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Still, the market remains cautious about a revival, given the limited number of cargoes booked so far and a shrinking window for new sales. China has switched to buying more Brazilian soybeans and recently taken shipments from Argentina, part of its strategy to diversify supply.
