China confirms annual US$17bn US agricultural purchase commitment
The White House says the 2026-2028 farm-goods pledge excludes earlier soybean commitments, while China is also moving on beef, poultry and new trade boards.
- China has committed to purchasing at least US$17 billion in US agricultural products annually for the years 2026, 2027, and 2028.
- This commitment is separate from and in addition to previous soybean purchase agreements made in October 2025.
- As part of the deal, China will work to lift suspensions on US beef facilities and resume poultry imports from US states deemed free of avian influenza.
- The agreement follows a sharp decline in US farm exports to China, which fell by 65.7% in 2025 due to tariffs.
China will buy at least US$17 billion worth of US agricultural products each year in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday (May 17).
The commitment followed meetings last week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the White House.
It does not include separate soybean purchase commitments that China made in October 2025.
The announcement comes after US farm exports to China were sharply reduced by last year’s rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs.
Trade fell 65.7% year on year to US$8.4 billion in 2025, according to US Department of Agriculture data.
China has also cut its reliance on American farm goods since Trump’s first term.
In 2024, the year before he returned to office, the US supplied about 20% of China’s soybeans, compared with 41% in 2016.
The White House said China would work with US regulators to lift suspensions affecting US beef facilities and would resume poultry imports from US states deemed free of avian influenza.
Confirming earlier statements from the Chinese government, the White House also said the world’s two largest economies would establish the US-China Board of Trade and the US-China Board of Investment.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said last week the boards would address concerns over market access for agricultural products and expand trade “under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework”.
Reuters
