China Pledges $17B/Year in U.S. Farm Buys; Beef and Poultry Markets Reopen

China isn't saying how many more US soybeans it will buy beyond last year's commitments. President Donald Trump, while on Air Force One, talked about new Chinese purchases of US soybeans.

“Farmers are going to be very happy. They’re going to be buying billions of dollars of soybeans, yeah.” 

Following the US-China summit held over the weekend, the White House says China has agreed to significantly expand its purchases of American farm goods, committing to buy at least $17 billion a year in US agricultural products on top of its existing soybean obligations. In addition, the agreement outlines several steps to reopen and expand market access for the US protein sectors. China has restored access for American beef by renewing more than 400 facility listings and adding new ones, and it has pledged to work with US regulators to lift remaining suspensions. Beijing has also resumed poultry imports from states that the USDA has certified as free of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The new purchase targets are more modest than the ambitions of the 2021 phase one deal, which called for up to $40 billion a year in US ag sales, a level China never reached. Still, China did buy $38 billion in US farm goods in 2022, including more than $20 billion outside of soybeans. The White House also says China will address US concerns about rare earth mineral supply chains, including restrictions on equipment and technology used in mining and processing.