China is making expanded U.S. farm purchases conditional on reciprocal tariff cuts, leaving the scale and timing of a proposed buying increase unresolved for farmers and traders.
Huang Ling, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, said Beijing remains willing to increase agricultural imports from the United States only if Washington and Beijing carry out tariff reductions. She said China hopes the United States will also lower tariffs, reduce non-tariff barriers and improve market access.
After a September meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, the countries outlined a proposed package of $60 billion in reciprocal tariff reductions, Reuters reported. Reuters said about $17 billion of the package refers to U.S. farm goods China imported in 2024; the proposal has not been finalized. Huang described the arrangement as “$30 billion-for-$30 billion.”
That $17 billion figure is separate from an annual buying target Reuters said the White House described in May. Under the commitment, Beijing agreed to buy $17 billion in U.S. non-soy agricultural goods annually starting in 2026, with the 2026 goal prorated. Those purchases would be additional to a separate soybean commitment made in October 2025.
The start of the annual target’s measurement period is unsettled. Reuters reported that the White House has not said whether the count began with its May announcement or will start once the proposed tariff cuts are finalized.
China appears on pace to meet its soybean commitment, but Reuters’ analysis found it imported $7.2 billion in other U.S. farm goods, including meat and corn, from January through September. Reuters’ historical comparison placed the non-soy total at its lowest level for that nine-month span since 2019, during the first U.S.-China trade war.
The slow pace of purchases is adding pressure on U.S. farmers already dealing with high fuel costs, Reuters reported, and has fueled doubts about a sharp import rise this year. Traders cited by Reuters said larger orders would make business sense only if the tariff burden fell.
Reuters said the bilateral agriculture working group is expected to meet before year-end.
