La Jornada: China will buy 17 billion more dollars from US agriculture each year

China committed to purchasing at least $17 billion annually in US agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the White House reported yesterday.

The commitment was made during meetings held last week between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The figure of 17 billion dollars does not include the soybean purchase commitments that China made in October 2025.

There has been a notable reduction in US agricultural exports to China after last year’s rounds of retaliatory tariffs sharply reduced trade, which fell 65.7 percent year-on-year to $8.4 billion in 2025, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.

The Asian nation has decreased its dependence on American agricultural products since Trump’s first term, buying only 20 percent of its soybean demand from the United States in 2024, the year before he returned to office, compared to 41 percent in 2016.

After periods of strong trade tensions and falling exports, Xi agreed to purchase large volumes of soybeans (25 million metric tons annually), thus covering a quarter of his total demand.

China will collaborate with US regulatory authorities to lift suspensions on US beef, as well as to resume imports of poultry from bird flu-free states, the White House reported.

Furthermore, confirming statements from the Chinese government, the White House published yesterday that the two largest economies in the world would establish two binational boards: one for trade and another for investment.

These bodies will resolve discrepancies over market access for agricultural products and expand trade “within a framework of reciprocal reduction of tariffs,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement.

The US agricultural sector is highly dependent on Chinese demand.

Key products exported include soybeans as a star product, as well as massive quantities of cereals such as corn, wheat and sorghum, various meats and dairy products.

Agricultural trade suffered contractions due to a tariff war, with reciprocal levies and intermittent declines in purchases; However, the subsequent resolution of agreements allowed shipments of beef and poultry to be unblocked.

The United States imports mainly fruits and vegetables (fresh and processed), spices, tea and snacks from China.

With information from Reuters