COFCO says China can replace U.S. soy imports with alternatives - state media

Soybeans fill a trailer at a farm in Buda, Illinois, U.S., July 6, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Acker

BEIJING (Reuters) - China can increase soybean imports from other countries to reduce reliance on buying from the United States, the president of state grains trader COFCO said in an interview with the Communist Party's official People's Daily paper on Wednesday.

Yu Xubo said in the interview that China can increase soybean imports from South American countries amid an escalating trade dispute with the United States that has seen the world's two biggest economies impose new import tariffs on each other's goods.