US says China agrees to spend billions on agricultural goods

Published Mon, May 18, 2026 · 06:35 AM

[WASHINGTON] China has agreed to purchase at least US$17 billion of agricultural products from the US annually to 2028, the White House said in a fact sheet detailing US President Donald Trump’s two-day summit in China.

A day earlier, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce released its own readout of the meeting, which said the US and China will adopt a series of measures, including mutually cutting levies on certain products. China did not provide specifics, adding that teams from both countries were still negotiating details, and the White House release was silent on tariffs.

Trump previously suggested that tariffs did not come up in his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We did not discuss tariffs,” Trump told reporters on Friday (May 15) aboard Air Force One. “They are paying substantial tariffs, but we did not discuss.”

The US$17 billion in annual Chinese purchases of agricultural products would be in addition to soybean-purchase commitments made last fall, the White House said. China met an initial pledge to buy 12 million tonnes of soy after Trump’s meeting with Xi last year, and the US said at the time that Beijing would buy 25 million tonnes annually for three years.

Previous efforts by Trump to get China to purchase more US goods have fallen short, raising questions about whether the latest pledges will be fulfilled. China failed to meet its commitments under an agreement Trump brokered in 2020 to buy an extra US$200 billion in US agricultural, energy and manufactured products over a two-year period. The Covid-19 pandemic complicated that effort but critics said that the targets were unrealistic.

China has recently turned to cheaper Brazilian soybeans after meeting the initial purchasing volume from the US agreed to in last year’s trade truce between Washington and Beijing.

While the fresh discloser will likely be welcomed by farmers, who were seeking more clarity from the latest summit, the amount may not be large enough to satisfy growers looking to turn around tough economic conditions.

Farmers have been struggling for years with relatively low crop prices and high costs. Pressures have been compounded by geopolitical tensions including Trump’s tariffs, and most recently by a surge in fertiliser costs linked to the conflict in Iran.

“Historically speaking, a US$17 billion non-soybean ag commitment from China would move the US back at or near post-Phase One trade values,” said No Bull Ag analyst Susan Stroud, referring to the agreement reached during Trump’s first term.

Stroud said that the estimate could help the market after traders were disappointed when last week’s meetings failed to produce concrete commitments. “The market has been desperate for any signs China may finally return for additional business – whether that’s corn, sorghum, cotton, beef, or beans,” she said.

China typically brings in billions of farm goods. US agricultural exports to China in 2024 were valued at US$24 billion, including US$12 billion in soybeans, US$1.4 billion in cotton and US$1.2 billion in sorghum, according to US Department of Agriculture data. Overall shipments to China fell to US$8.3 billion in 2025 after the trade dispute ratcheted up.

Trump’s visit to Beijing was the first to China by a US president in nearly a decade, and both leaders struck a positive tone on US-China relations.

In the wake of the summit, China restored market access for US beef by renewing the expired listings of more than 400 beef facilities. China will also work with US regulators to restore imports of American poultry.

Bloomberg reported prior to the summit that China had renewed beef import licenses. Beijing let hundreds of import authorisations for US meat exporters lapse amid Trump’s tariff war.

The outcome shows that both countries “can find solutions to the problems through dialog and cooperation”, China’s Commerce Ministry said on Saturday, noting the terms were discussed during trade talks in South Korea ahead of Xi’s meeting with Trump.

The US also said that China will address American concerns on the supply shortages and export restrictions tied to rare earth and other critical minerals.

In the fact sheet, the White House said that both “leaders agreed Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and agreed that no country or organisation can be allowed to charge tolls”. Both leaders also “confirmed their shared goal to denuclearise North Korea”.

During his flight back to the US from Asia, Trump said that he had discussed lifting sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian oil.

The White House also reiterated plans for Xi to visit the US this fall. BLOOMBERG