China will purchase 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Friday.
The announcement comes as the White House is a trying to reach a broader trade deal with Beijing by next month. President Trump announced Friday that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, for one-on-one talks.
“In (an) Oval Office meeting today, the Chinese committed to buy an additional 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans. Hats off to @POTUS for bringing China to the table. Strategy is working. Show of good faith by the Chinese. Also indications of more good news to come,” Perdue tweeted.
BREAKING: In Oval Office meeting today, the Chinese committed to buy an additional 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans. Hats off to @POTUS for bringing China to the table. Strategy is working. Show of good faith by the Chinese. Also indications of more good news to come.
— Sec. Sonny Perdue (@SecretarySonny) February 22, 2019
The announcement was made after Trump concluded a White House meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Following a similar meeting earlier with Liu earlier this month, China promised to buy $5 billion worth of soybeans.
China had cut back its purchases of soybeans back in July, with the number reaching zero in November, but restarted its purchases in December following a cooling down of the trade war by both sides. Reuters reported that China ultimately purchased 23 million tons in 2018.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article had a headline stating China had a commitment to buy $10 billion in soybeans, when it should have stated China’s commitment was about 10 million metric tons of said beans. The Washington Examinerregrets the error.
