China to Speed U.S. Farm Purchases After Secretive Hawaii Talks

China plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods to comply with the phase one trade deal with the U.S. following talks in Hawaii this week. The world’s top soybean importer intends to increase buying everything from soybeans to corn and ethanol after purchases fell behind due to the coronavirus, said two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. A separate person said China’s government has asked state-owned buyers to make efforts to meet the phase one pact.

U.S. equities rose as the reports boosted risk appetites. They come at a fraught time for U.S.-China relations, with President Donald Trump escalating criticism of the Beijing government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and signing off on Congress’s rebuke over repression of the Muslim Uighur minority group. Trump’s personal relationship with China’s Xi Jinping also is under scrutiny. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton asserts in his new book that Trump personally urged the Chinese leader in 2019 to help him win re-election by buying more farm products.

Nobody from the commerce ministry responded to a fax seeking comment. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said “I don’t have any further information to provide right now” when asked about the purchase plans at a briefing in Beijing.

Falling Behind

China needs to speed up purchases to meet phase one farm goals

Source: USDA data for Chinese purchases

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said China’s top foreign policy official committed to honor all of his nation’s commitments under the trade deal.

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