China on Wednesday made its first major purchases of U.S. soybeans since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping struck a trade war truce earlier this month, providing some relief to U.S. farmers who have struggled to find buyers for their record-large harvest.
Reuters reports the purchase of over 1.5 million tonnes of beans is the most concrete evidence yet that China is making good on pledges the U.S. government said Xi made when the two leaders met on Dec. 1 and agreed to a 90-day detente to negotiate a trade deal.
The soybean purchases by Chinese state-owned companies, valued at more than $500 million, will do little to reduce the $43.1 billion U.S. trade deficit with China.
The purchases will, however, provide a goodwill gesture before the next round of U.S.-China talks.
