White House unveils US-China agriculture pact after fresh trade talks

After the most awaited US-China summit in Beijing, both countries have unveiled a new agriculture trade pact to strengthen economic corridors.

In a recent development, China has committed to importing at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural products in 2026, 2027, and 2028.

The White House said the commitment was made during meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.

China has dramatically scaled back its reliance on U.S. farm goods since Trump's first term, sourcing roughly 20% of its soybeans from the U.S. in 2024, the year before ‌he returned to office, down from 41% in 2016.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data fact sheet, there has been a marked reduction in U.S. agricultural exports to China after last year's rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs sharply curtailed trade, which fell 65.7% year-on-year to $8.4 billion in 2024.

Now China aims to work with U.S. regulators to lift suspensions of U.S. beef facilities and resume imports of poultry from U.S. states determined to be free of avian influenza, the White House said.

Confirming earlier statements from the Chinese government, the White House also said on Sunday the world's two largest economies would establish a U.S.-China Board of Trade and the U.S.-China Board of Investment.

The boards will resolve concerns over market access for agricultural products and expand trade "under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement last week.

Notably, the $17 billion figure does not include the soybean purchase commitments China made in October 2025, the White House said.

The news comes as President Trump and President Xi agreed that the United States and China should build a constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of fairness and reciprocity. President Trump will welcome President Xi for a visit to Washington this fall.

Both countries will support each other as the respective hosts of the G20 and APEC summits later this year.