China commits to additional purchases of U.S. ag products

President Donald Trump returned from his recent two-day trip to China with deals that could expand United States exports of grains, oilseeds, beef, and poultry, according to a White House fact sheet published May 17.

In addition to previous commitments to purchase 25 million metric tons of soybeans, China will buy at least $17 billion in U.S. agricultural commodities each year for the next three years. The 2026 numbers will be prorated.

In an interview with CBS on Sunday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the purchase commitments are for “aggregate” agricultural products, and could include additional soybean buys, but also other commodities.

“When I say aggregate, I mean everything else. That could be soybeans, that could be beef, that could be grains, that could be dairy products, all kinds of things,” he said.

In 2024, the U.S. exported around $24 billion of agricultural products to China, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Soybeans have typically accounted for around $11 billion of these sales.

At the heart of the latest U.S.-China negotiations is the establishment of two new mechanisms to foster cooperation on bilateral trade and investment, the fact sheet says. The “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment” will offer a “government-to-government forum” for officials to discuss trade and investment issues.

Opening doors for poultry

The fact sheet also provided new details on China’s commitments to restore market access to U.S. poultry exporters. The Phase One deal signed in 2020 established strict criteria for when Beijing could limit poultry exports from U.S. states affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza. But since that agreement, several states that have long been free from the virus have still faced bans exporting into the Chinese market.

On the back of Trump’s visit, China has “resumed imports of poultry from U.S. states determined by the USDA to be free of highly pathogenic avian influenza,” the fact sheet reads.

Greg Tyler, president and CEO of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, told Agri-Pulse that he would need to dig into the finer details of the poultry announcement, but that the lifting of state poultry export bans would be a “huge win.”

China is a prominent buyer of U.S. chicken paws, which have little demand in other markets.

“We are obviously very grateful to the Trump administration for their work on this and look forward to more details so that we can resume our exports to that very important market,” Tyler said.

If all the states that should be eligible to ship poultry products to China see their bans removed, Tyler added, that would result in exports from 19 additional states, including major broiler-producing states like Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

USTR did not immediately respond to a request to clarify whether all 19 states would see their market access restored. 

Beef export facilities reinstated

U.S. beef supplies hit 75-year lows earlier this year, but Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that he’s going to make it easier to import U.S. beef. Beijing reinstated export registrations for 425 U.S. beef facilities, which had lapsed last year. Additionally, 77 new U.S. beef establishment registrations have been added to the China’s Food Import Food Establishment system with an effective date of May 15, and registrations are valid for five years, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

The fact sheet says Beijing has also committed to working with U.S. regulators to lift suspensions on 38 facilities. However, the White House makes no mention of beef import quotas, which the Chinese government uses to manage beef imports. The U.S. received quotas for 164,000 metric tons this year. 

USMEF was awaiting more details from the U.S. government on these developments, but President and CEO Dan Halstrom said his organization “greatly appreciates U.S. beef access being prioritized at the summit meeting between President Trump and President Xi. Renewal of U.S. beef establishment registrations is a critical step forward for U.S. beef exports to China.”

Greer also said May 17  during an appearance on ABC that China had agreed to look at its approvals of U.S. biotechnology traits. However, the fact sheet makes no mention of such commitment.

Editor’s note: Sara Wyant is publisher of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., www.Agri-Pulse.com.