(Sept 14): China has fulfilled more than half of its US soybean purchase pledge, offering a bright spot for trade between the world’s two largest economies ahead of President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington.

State-owned traders booked at least one million tonnes of US soybeans last week, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be named as they’re not authorised to talk to the media. That has brought total purchases for the current season close to 13 million tonnes, more than half of the 25 million-tonne annual target that Washington says Beijing has committed to through 2028, the people said.

The target is part of a wider trade truce struck between the two sides last year. The deal helped drive a rebound in crop flows, which largely stalled at the start of US President Donald Trump’s latest term due to a blitz of tariffs between the countries.

The latest buying comes as Xi and Trump prepare to meet for a closely watched trade summit — their second this year — which is slated for late September in the US. China has also pledged to buy at least US$17 billion (RM69.14 billion) of US agricultural products on top of the soybean purchase pledge, with the figure prorated for 2026, the White House said in May.

The US Department of Agriculture last week reported more than 600,000 tonnes of soybean sales for delivery to China in the 2026-27 marketing year.  

Soybean futures in Chicago rose as much as 0.6%, before paring gains, as optimism over China buying supports prices. Still, continued purchases will be needed to sustain the rally, said Joe Davis, a director of commodity sales at Futures International LLC. 

Longer-term trade prospects also remain clouded as tensions between the countries flare across other issues, from competition over artificial intelligence to arm sales to Taiwan.

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