Exponential increases in purchases of some politically important American goods such as soybeans, corn and cars have failed to significantly move the needle toward meeting China’s annual import commitments in the phase one trade deal ahead of November’s elections.
A South China Morning Post analysis of detailed US customs data for August shows that China’s imports of goods covered by the deal, signed in January, were up 25% relative to June.
In volume terms, China’s purchases of U.S. soybeans saw a year-on-year increase of 15 per cent in the first eight months of 2020. Pork purchases were up 134% and corn sales rose 50%. Strong daily export purchases of soybeans continued through September.
Despite the spending spree during the summer months, however, China is nowhere near meeting the overall targets set out in the phase one trade deal. The agreement dictates that China’s purchases should be $200 billion higher than 2017’s levels, and on those terms, China is still miles away.
