BEIJING: Soybeans are likely to be on the agenda when trade chiefs from the United States and China next meet, a conversation that could shed light on when Beijing plans to resume purchases in earnest.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and China’s vice-premier He Lifeng are expected to convene in Paris this weekend, in preparation for a summit in Beijing between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the end of the month.
Soybeans are central to US-China trade relations, highlighting a co-dependency between the Chinese farmers who need imports to feed their vast herds of livestock, and the – often Trump-voting – American farmers who rely on exports for their livelihood.
“The market consensus is that the meeting between top leaders of the two nations would definitely provide some incentive for more purchasing,” said Meng Zhangyu, an analyst at Wuchan Zhongda Futures Co.
After a months-long trade war in 2025 cut Chinese purchases to zero, Beijing quickly made good on its agreement in October to buy 12 million tonnes of US beans. But purchases have since stalled. — Bloomberg
