Skip to main content

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. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xi Jinping's Doctoral Thesis

Xi Jinping is the vice president and presumed next president of China but little is known about him. In this post the dimsums blog offers its contribution to the genre of Xi Jinping-ology by conveying Xi's decade-old views on agricultural markets. Ten years ago Xi Jinping wrote a thesis, "Tentative Study of Agricultural Marketization" (中国农村市场化研究) for a Doctor of Law degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing, a top breeding-ground for Chinese officials. The dimsums blogger has spent several hours poring over the 200-plus page tome to see what it reveals about Dr. Xi. The thesis is remarkably close to what China has been doing lately in agricultural policy, suggesting that Xi (or the person who actually wrote the thesis) has a major say in policy or is at least in agreement with what's being done. There is nothing adventurous, controversial (or insightful) in the thesis. It seems to be the work of a wonkish technocrat who is not prone to talk out of turn or wander from...
15 comments
Read more

China's 2024 Ag Imports Shrank in Value

China's agricultural imports declined 7.9 percent during 2024 to reach $215 billion, according to data posted on the customs administration website. The 2024 value was lower than each of the 3 preceding years. Agricultural exports were up 4.1 percent to reach $103 billion. Source: Data from China Customs Administration December reports. The top two agricultural import categories by value both declined. Soybeans ($52.75 billion in 2024) fell 10.9 percent, and meat ($23.38 billion) fell 15.1 percent. Cereal grain imports ($15 billion) were down 28 percent and fish & shellfish imports ($18.5 billion) were down 6.2 percent. Edible oils imports ($10.6 billion) were down 17.8 percent. Fruit, rubber, cotton and wool and beverage imports were up for the year. The decline in value of imports partly reflected a decline in prices. Customs reported that the volume of soybean imports for calendar year 2024 reached a record 105 million metric tons, up 5.6 million metric tons from the previou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feed Boom & Cratering Grain Imports; China Leaves Us Guessing

In the first half of 2025 China increased its meat and egg production by a combined 1.58 million metric tons (mmt) from a year earlier, a moderate increase of 2.5%. Meanwhile, animal feed output during H1 2025 compiled from feed industry association reports increased by 14.5 mmt (+10 percent) from a year ago. China's 14.5-mmt increase feed output growth outpaced the 1.58-mmt growth in meat production by a ratio of 9:1. It's hard to make sense of these inconsistent figures.  [note: The June 2025 feed industry association report has a 7.7% yoy growth rate for feed output which is inconsistent with the 10.1% growth shown here calculated by comparing data from monthly reports issued last year. Growth rates for complete feed were 8.1%, concentrates -1.5%; additives 6.9%. These inconsistencies are common in the feed industry association reports, a reason for doubting the accuracy of this data.] There is no boom in demand for feed ingredients to fuel a huge increase in feed production...
Post a Comment
Read more