China Makes First Big U.S. Soybean Purchase Since Chinese Capitulation To Trump

CHICAGO (Reuters) – 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.

Trump told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday the Chinese were already buying a “tremendous amount” of U.S. soybeans and would also soon cut tariffs on U.S. autos.

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.

Global markets had whipsawed since then, with little sign that China was making the substantial purchases of U.S. farm, energy and industrial products that Trump said would start immediately after the meeting.

Investors have been skeptical about the progress made toward ending a trade war that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods between the world’s two largest economies. The arrest in Canada of a top Chinese executive from technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd also stoked concern in markets that the trade war could worsen.

In another sign of concessions to the United States, China appears to be easing its high-tech industrial push, dubbed “Made in China 2025,” which has long irked Washington.

China has also told state oil trader Unipec to buy U.S. oil, and...

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