China agrees to boost trade for US ag products such as beef and poultry
following Trump-Xi summit
[May 18, 2026] By
DIDI TANG
WASHINGTON (AP) — China has agreed to ramp up trade for U.S.
agricultural products such as beef and poultry, buying at an annualized
rate of $17 billion per year for 2026 and at that level for 2027 and
2028, the White House announced Sunday, two days after President Donald
Trump returned from a high-stakes summit in Beijing where he sought to
ease the impact on American farmers from the trade war he launched last
year.
China would restore market access for U.S. beef and resume imports of
poultry from U.S. states determined by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to be free of the bird flu, the White House said. The deals
are on top of China's soybean purchase commitments last year.
The agreements offer some hope to American farmers harmed by the trade
war as they saw a major export market for soybeans and other products
dry up. Farmers also are feeling new pressure from Trump administration
policies — the war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran has
curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade corridor
that has restricted global fertilizer supplies and sent those prices
soaring.
There was no immediate confirmation of the terms from Beijing.
China's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday said the two sides would
“resolve or make substantial progress toward resolving certain
non-tariff barriers and market access issues" regarding agricultural
goods.
The U.S. would “actively work” to address China's concerns regarding
detention of its dairy products, seafood, the export of potted bonsai,
and the recognition of Shandong province as a bird-flu-free zone, while
the Chinese side will “likewise actively work” to address U.S. concerns
regarding the registration of beef processing facilities and the export
of poultry meat from certain states to China, a ministry spokesperson
said.
The two sides also agreed to expand trade, including that of farm goods,
through measures such as reciprocal tariff reductions on “a specific
range of products,” though the spokesperson did not specify the
products.
China, recognizing the link between food security and national security,
has diversified its sources of imported soybeans, beef and other farm
goods, turning increasingly to Brazil, Argentina and other countries
over the U.S.
China sharply cut back US imports during the trade war
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show China's imports of
U.S. agricultural goods peaked in 2022 with $38 billion but fell to $8
billion in 2025. These figures include nearly $18 billion in soybean
purchases in 2022 and $3 billion in 2025.
It's not immediately clear how much more China would buy from American
soybean farmers, who were hit especially hard in the trade war. China,
traditionally the largest foreign buyer of American soybeans, stopped
purchasing them altogether last year after Trump hiked tariffs on
Chinese goods.
The latest agreement builds on a trade truce Trump reached with Chinese
President Xi Jinping in October in which China agreed to resume buying
U.S. soybeans. The White House said then that China committed to buying
12 million metric tons in the current marketing year and 25 million
metric tons for each of the next three years.
According to the White House, hundreds of U.S. beef plants, including
those run by Tyson and Cargill, also will be able to export again to
China, though it’s not immediately clear how much beef American
businesses will be selling to China.
[to top of second column] |
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Chinese
President Xi Jinping while leaving after a visit to the Zhongnanhai
Garden in Beijing, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Evan Vucci/Pool Photo via
AP)
 China let licenses for hundreds of
U.S. beef plants expire last year, and the import value for 2025
fell to less than $500 million, according to USDA figures. China’s
purchases of U.S. beef had peaked at $2.14 billion in 2022, the
government data shows.
The U.S. export of poultry meats and products to China was $286
million in 2025, down from more than $1 billion in 2022.
Trump and Xi used summit to find areas of economic cooperation
During the summit last week, Trump and Xi discussed ways to enhance
economic cooperation, including expanding market access for American
businesses in China and increasing Chinese investment into U.S.
industries, the White House had said. The two leaders agreed to set
up separate boards of trade and investment — though offered few
details on the proposals or how they would differ from existing
trade dialogues.
The Board of Trade will allow the two governments to manage trade of
“non-sensitive goods,” and the Board of Investments would provide a
venue for the two sides to discuss investment-related issues,
according to the White House.
China's Ministry of Commerce said the two bodies would address
respective concerns regarding trade and investment. The Board of
Trade, the ministry spokesperson said, would allow the two sides to
discuss issues such as tariff reductions on specific products. “In
principle, the two sides agreed to reduce tariff on products of
respective concern at equivalent scale,” the spokesperson said.
Xi said last week that China’s door of opportunity will open wider
when he met with U.S. business leaders joining Trump on the trip.
Among those who traveled to Beijing was Brian Sikes, CEO of the
agricultural giant Cargill.
Soybeans, which are used for livestock feed and biofuels in China,
are among the top U.S. agricultural exports. Soybean exports to
China in the past had accounted for about half of U.S. exports of
agricultural goods to the Asian nation.
USDA data shows the U.S. exported 10.9 million metric tons of
soybeans to China as of May 7, putting China on track to fulfill its
previous commitment by the end of the marketing year on Aug. 31.
This is well below the 25 million to 30 million metric tons that
China purchased in past years.
Before Trump’s initial planned trip to Beijing in late March — which
was postponed by the Iran war — the American Soybean Association
urged him to prioritize soybeans in the trade talks with Xi.
Scott Metzger, president of the association, said Thursday the group
would like to see “additional soybean purchases this marketing year,
as well as continued progress toward fulfilling future purchase
commitments.”
“Greater certainty and consistency in the marketplace help provide
farmers with the confidence they need as they make decisions for the
year ahead,” he said.
___
AP journalist Kevin Vineys contributed to this report.
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