President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he plans to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in four weeks. He added that the main agenda for the meeting will focus on US soybean purchases, as American farmers deal with the fallout from his trade wars.
“The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for ‘negotiating’ reasons only, not buying,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I’ll be meeting with President Xi, of China, in four weeks, and Soybeans will be a major topic of discussion,” he added.
Last month, Trump said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea at the end of October. He also said he plans to visit China next year.
Earlier this year, the US and China had a trade war, placing higher tariffs on each other’s exports. Although both countries have agreed to reduce tensions, the situation remains fragile and uncertain.
On Wednesday, Trump said he wants to use some US tariff money to help American farmers. He also criticised former President Joe Biden for not enforcing an earlier trade deal with China that required increased farm purchases.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) has asked Trump to make soybeans a top priority in trade talks with China. In August, the group warned that China’s retaliatory tariffs are keeping American farmers from selling to their biggest export market just as the 2025 soybean harvest approaches. China is one of the world’s largest buyers of soybeans, and the United States has long been a key supplier to the country.
But “the US has made zero sales to China in this new crop marketing year due to 20-percent retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to US tariffs,” ASA President Caleb Ragland said last week.
“This has allowed other exporters, Brazil and now Argentina, to capture our market at the direct expense of US farmers,” he added in a statement. “The frustration is overwhelming,” he said.
