Bessent and Greer press China on farm buys as soybean rally fades

Washington put Beijing on the clock. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised China's unfulfilled promises, agricultural buying included, in a videoconference with Vice Premier He Lifeng. Soybean futures ripped higher by the most in more than two weeks on the appeal, according to Bloomberg, before sliding back to where they started.

Bessent said the relationship only moves forward on tangible results, and that Washington will judge China by how it executes the deal. Greer went narrower: Beijing needs to show real steps on farm goods, rare earths and other critical minerals. His office said the administration will track compliance with past commitments while still chasing balanced trade.

Traders couldn't decide what to do with the optimism. They weighed the prospect of fresh Chinese buying against expectations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will report soybean output creeping toward an all-time high. Futures have now dropped four weeks running.

China didn't take the pressure quietly. According to Bloomberg, Beijing lodged "serious concerns" about the latest U.S. trade and economic restrictions during the call. Both sides described "frank, in-depth, and constructive exchanges," agreed to deepen cooperation and to keep their disagreements contained, per a Chinese state news agency account cited by Bloomberg.

There's a recent benchmark for the promises in play. Chinese state-owned firms reserved at least 20 shiploads of U.S. soybeans in mid-October — roughly 1.3 million tons — their first buys since the late-September summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. Beijing has pledged to import at least 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans a year through 2028, plus $17 billion annually in other American farm goods.

Patience in Washington is already thin. In September, Bessent said some Chinese deliverables had fallen short and that Beijing was running late on parts of its agricultural commitments, according to Bloomberg. The two governments agreed to stretch their trade truce to Jan. 10.