By Ryan Hanrahan
Bloomberg’s Hallie Gu and James Mayger reported that “China will make ‘substantial’ purchases of US soybeans, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday after talks with Chinese counterparts, in a sign that the relations are thawing ahead of a possible leaders’ meeting.”
“Bessent’s comments to CBS’s Face the Nation follow two days of meetings with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An initial consensus was reached on various bilateral issues including agriculture, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce,” Gu and Mayger reported. “The move underscores efforts by both sides to stabilize relations after months of on-and-off tensions and exchange of sharp rhetoric.”
“If confirmed by Beijing, the pledge to step up purchases of US supplies would bring major relief to American farmers struggling with financial stress after China, their top buyer, walked away this season,” Gu and Mayger reported. “The Chinese government has wielded soybean imports as a major bargaining chip throughout its trade dispute with Washington, helping to strengthen its leverage in the latest round of negotiations.”
The Hill’s Max Rego reported that “according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. farmers sold $12.64 billion worth of soybeans to China last year, more than $10 billion more than that sold to the next closest trading partner, the European Union. During the last decade, soybean exports to China peaked in 2022, when farmers sent $17.92 billion worth of the crop to the East Asian country.”
Source : illinois.edu