(U. S.) U.S. dollar meets in Busan, U.S. says China will resume U.S. soybean purchases

On October 30, the Chinese and US heads of state met in Busan, South Korea, which lasted about 100 minutes. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state since the G20 leaders' meeting in Osaka in 2019. After the meeting, the US side disclosed a series of arrangements involving agricultural trade.

According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Bethant, China has agreed to purchase 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans a year from 2026 to 2028, and 12 million tons between October 2025 and January 2026. It should be noted that the above figures were unilaterally disclosed by the United States, and China's statement was "expanding trade in agricultural products" without specifying the specific quantity.

In terms of tariffs, the United States will reduce the tariff on China for fentanyl reasons from 20% to 10%, and the overall tariff level on China will be lowered accordingly. China announced that it would continue to suspend 24% of the "reciprocal tariff" for one year and suspend rare earth export control measures for one year. The United States suspended the "50% Penetration Rule" and 301 investigation measures in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries for one year.

After the news was announced, soybean futures prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose about 3%, corn and wheat rose simultaneously, and the atmosphere in the agricultural state of the United States was revived. The U.S. Soybean Export Association said farmers are more interested in "the return of market certainty". Since the tariff war escalated in April this year, China has basically stopped purchasing U.S. beans since May. This year, U.S. soybean exports to China once returned to zero. The actual pace of subsequent purchases will be a key indicator to test the quality of this round of easing.

Source: AP; Reuters; Xinhua, 30 October 2025.