#China to ramp up farm goods purchases after Hawaii summit with Pompeo

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A farmer plants soybeans in a field in Springfield, Nebraska.
Nati Harnik/AP

China will speed up its purchases of American farm goods under its trade deal with the US following a summit between the two countries, a new report says.

Beijing plans to ramp up purchase of products such as soybeans, corn and ethanol after the coronavirus crisis caused purchases to fall behind, according to Bloomberg News. Chinese officials have pushed state-owned agricultural buyers to meet the terms of the landmark phase-one trade pact, the outlet reported Friday.

The accelerated buying will follow US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Wednesday meeting in Hawaii with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo. Jiechi “recommitted to completing and honoring all of the obligations” of the trade deal during the meeting, Pompeo said on Twitter.

China committed to buying $36.5 billion worth of US agriculture goods under the phase-one agreement, but only purchased roughly $4.6 billion in the first four months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bloomberg News.

Officials on both sides of the Pacific have pledged to forge ahead with implementing the trade deal despite escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing. President Trump has slammed the Chinese Communist Party’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and also moved to end special treatment for Hong Kong in response to Beijing’s effort to impose national security restrictions on the territory.