Trade officials from China and the United States discussed “China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States” during three days of talks in Beijing, said the Trump administration on Wednesday. The White House said last month, following a dinner meeting of Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping, that China would purchase U.S. goods while the nations work to resolve their trade war.
Farm groups hope warmer relations will rekindle ag exports to China, formerly their No. 1 market. The partial government shutdown includes the USDA’s daily reporting of large grain sales and its weekly tally of exports to nations throughout the world. There have been secondhand reports of large purchases by China in the past few days but no official announcements.
Trump said the talks with China were “going very well,” reported the AP. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “We expect that something will come of this. I don’t know the timing and exactly what that will look like, but what I can be sure of is that we are moving towards a more balanced and reciprocal trade agreement with China.”
At the time the talks opened, the American Soybean Association said the trade war had resulted in lower market prices for soybean growers. Two top U.S. agriculture trade officials were part of the U.S. delegation to Beijing, said the group. “We are anxious to see real progress to end this trade war quickly,” said Davie Stephens, the group’s president.