US President Donald Trump said he hopes China will massively step up its purchases of American soybeans – comments that come a day before a trade truce expires.
“China is worried about its shortage of soybeans,” Trump wrote on social media on Monday. “I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China’s trade deficit with the USA.”
Trump also thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the post, without saying why.
The president’s push is happening as US farmers are just weeks from their next harvest, boosting supplies available to sell. China is the world’s top buyer of the oilseed and usually ranks as the biggest customer of American soy farmers, a trade valued at more than US$12 billion in 2024. However, US government data as of late July show the Asian nation has refrained from booking any cargoes for the coming season that starts in September as tensions between the two sides linger.
Soybean futures in Chicago jumped as much as 2.8 per cent after Trump’s post, the biggest intraday gain in four months, and traded 2.3 per cent higher as of 5.15am local time. Corn and wheat also rose.
Soybeans are planted on a farm in Minnesota. Photo: AP
Agriculture has been a key issue in the trade dispute between the two sides, with China turning to crops from South America and elsewhere to meet its needs. China agreed to increase buying of US agricultural goods like soybeans during the so-called phase one trade agreement reached during Trump’s first term, although Beijing ultimately fell well short of the purchase targets in that pact.