China Refused to Confirm U.S. Soybean Purchase Commitment

China's Commerce Ministry refused to confirm that China committed to U.S. soybean purchases at the October 30 Trump-Xi meeting. Reading the tea leaves, it looks like China is in a passive-aggressive state over bilateral trade with the U.S. and has no intention of fulfilling this commitment--if it was ever made.

At a November 13 press conference an unidentified "media reporter" asked whether the Ministry of Commerce could confirm the White House's claim that China committed to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year and 25 million metric tons in the following 3 years. Spokesperson He Yadong gave no direct confirmation, but he didn't deny it either. 

He responded with a word salad stating that "the Ministry of Commerce had recently released information regarding the joint arrangements for the China-US Kuala Lumpur trade consultations, outlining the main achievements and consensus reached, including on agricultural trade." He followed up with: "China is an important participant in global agricultural trade and will continue to uphold an open and cooperative attitude, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with global trading partners to jointly safeguard an open, stable, and sustainable global trading system."

It's possible the spokesman was caught off guard by the question, but this is looking like a nonconfrontational approach to saying "no." He could have given a more friendly non-answer, but the non-answer he did give appears to be a disguised denial intended to give the White House a middle finger. Chinese leaders are undoubtedly furious that President Trump has been reaching out to ASEAN and Central Asian trade partners -- territories China views as its backyard where it has focused its foreign trade and investment initiatives as the foundation for expanding China's role as a global leader. 

Many Chinese news sites posted an abbreviated report with the title "The Ministry of Commerce briefed the public on issues related to China-US soybean trade" that omits the question about soybean purchase commitments and doesn't even mention soybeans in the text. I found only a couple of reports that actually reported that the soybean purchase question was asked at the press conference.

Commerce Ministry spokesman He Weidong at November 13 press conference.

It's unclear who raised the soybean question at the press conference. The transcript of the press conference identified the questioner only as "media reporter" (the reporter also asked about China's new rare earth export licensing system). Most reporters asking questions at the conference were identified as State-owned media: Phoenix TV, China Global TV Network, Fengmian News (operated by Sichuan Daily), and China News Service. But Deutsche Press asked the final question. The question could have bee planted by the Commerce Ministry in order to issue its passive-aggressive response on the soybean commitment.