Did China Purchase US Soybeans for the First Time This Harvest Season?

On October 29, according to information from the regular press conference published on the website of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an AFP reporter mentioned that China had purchased soybeans from the United States for the first time this harvest season. This also marks China's first purchase since soybean imports from the US dropped to zero in September.

In response, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that China's position on the relevant issues is consistent, and specific questions should be directed to the competent Chinese authorities.

According to US President Donald Trump, in this round of China-US economic and trade consultations, the US side listed rare earths, fentanyl, and soybeans as its three major concerns.

The US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, stated that China had agreed to purchase 12 million tons of US soybeans in the current planting season ending in January, and also committed to purchasing 25 million tons of soybeans annually over the next three years. Other Southeast Asian countries have agreed to purchase an additional 19 million tons of US soybeans.

However, information released on the website of China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday indicated that China and the US had reached a consensus on issues including expanding agricultural trade, but it did not specifically mention soybeans.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, as the harvest season approached, US soybean farmers were facing increasingly severe impacts.

Caleb Ragland, President of the American Soybean Association, wrote to President Trump on August 19, stating that the country's soybean growers were under significant financial pressure and urging him to prioritize the soybean issue in US-China trade negotiations.

Ragland wrote that soybean prices continued to fall, while farmers' production inputs and equipment costs rose sharply, and soybean farmers could not withstand a prolonged trade dispute with their largest customer.

The American Soybean Association represents the interests of over 300,000 growers across 30 soybean-producing states in the United States, with its core functions being lobbying the government to formulate industrial policies and exploring international markets.