Progress made as China buys US soybeans

Millions of tons of American soybeans have been shipped out to China, the latest progress in the purchase of US agricultural products by Chinese enterprises after a June meeting of the two heads of state in Osaka, official sources said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the US administration has announced the exemption of additional tariffs imposed on 110 items of Chinese industrial products and expressed its willingness to prompt the US businesses to continue providing supplies for related Chinese enterprises.

These have shown the two sides’ readiness to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Osaka, according to sources with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

The US-China trade war has curbed the export of US crops to China, with soybean sales falling sharply after Beijing slapped tariffs of 25 percent on American cargoes.

Since July 19, some Chinese firms have inquired with US suppliers about the new purchases of US farm produce including soybeans, cotton, pork and sorghum. Currently, a batch of deals have been made in line with market conditions.

The Chinese enterprises involved have applied for the lifting of additional tariffs on some of the US farm produce, and the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will handle their applications according to stipulated procedures.

Chinese enterprises will continue to make inquiries based on domestic market demand about the purchase of US agricultural products including soybeans, cotton, pork, sorghum, wheat, corn and dairy products.

Additional deals are expected to be made as long as the US products are reasonably priced and of premium quality.

Chinese and US negotiators are set to meet in Shanghai this week for the first time since the summit, with talks to start on tomorrow.

China brought in 614,805 tons of soybeans from the United States in June, down 2.5 percent from June 2018 and down 37 percent from 977,024 tons in May, customs data released on Saturday showed.

The sources said that the US side should take concrete measures to fulfill its promises and create favorable conditions for the economic and trade consultations between the two sides.