China claims it has increased US soy imports
Chinese state media said on Sunday that the Asian country had purchased several million tonnes of US soybeans since 28 June, when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Osaka, although those volumes had yet to show up in US government data.
Yet according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture, America exported only 1.02m tonnes of soybeans to China between 28 June and 18 July.
The US-China trade war had significantly curbed the export of US crops to China after Beijing hit American cargoes with retaliatory 25% tariffs.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce said: “As long as the American agricultural products are reasonably priced and of good quality, it is expected that there will be new purchases.”
The purchases were said to have begun on 19 July.
Wuhan-based Jim Huang, chief executive of China-data.com.cn, an independent agriculture consultancy, said on Monday that buying will be carried out by “state firms and other major players, based on the prices and their actual demand. So the process won’t be that quick,” Reuters reported.
“China is sincere in negotiating with the U.S. and is offering goodwill gestures,” Huang reportedly said.
Some deals had been made and Chinese firms have submitted applications to the State Council to remove tariffs on the products purchased, Xinhua reported separately.
China brought in 614,805 tons of soybeans from the US in June, down 2.5% from June 2018 and down 37% from 977,024 tons in May, Chinese customs data released on Saturday showed
Chinese and U.S. negotiators were set to meet in Shanghai this week for the first time since the summit, with talks to start on July 30.