White House claims China agreed to $17bn annual agricultural purchases through 2028
Beijing has not yet confirmed the White House’s fact sheet detailing new trade commitments, including beef and poultry market access, following the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
The White House has announced that China has agreed to purchase at least $17 billion worth of US agricultural goods annually through to 2028, following a two-day summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The announcement, detailed in a fact sheet released on Sunday, outlines specific commitments regarding soya beans, beef, and poultry, alongside the establishment of new bilateral oversight bodies.
Under the terms outlined by the US administration, the $17 billion annual target applies to the remainder of 2026 on a proportionate basis, with purchases continuing through 2028. This figure is separate from a previous commitment made in October during a summit in South Korea, where China agreed to buy 87 million metric tonnes of US soya beans. The White House stated that the new agreement aims to bolster bilateral trade, which has declined significantly from a peak of more than $690 billion in 2022 to approximately $415 billion last year.
The agreement also includes provisions for the restoration of market access for US beef and poultry. China will renew expired listings for more than 400 US beef production facilities, allowing exports to resume. Additionally, Beijing will resume imports of poultry from US states determined by the US Department of Agriculture to be free of avian influenza. These measures are intended to address long-standing barriers that have restricted American agricultural exports to the Chinese market.
To manage these commitments, the two leaders agreed to establish two new entities: the US-China Board of Trade and the US-China Board of Investment. These bodies are designed to oversee and facilitate bilateral trade and investment flows. The White House described the summit as an effort to enhance economic cooperation, although the event was previously characterised as being heavy on pageantry but light on concrete agreements prior to this clarification.
Despite the detailed fact sheet released by the White House, Chinese authorities have not yet confirmed the announcement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The summit also touched on geopolitical issues, including the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme, but notably omitted any reference to Taiwan, a sensitive issue that Beijing views as an integral part of its territory and which Washington is committed to defending under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
US stock markets reacted with volatility during the period surrounding the summit and the subsequent announcement. Markets rose during the initial talks in Beijing, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.8 per cent, but futures dipped slightly on Sunday evening as investors weighed the trade news against corporate earnings and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
