US’s Bessent says soybeans ‘all taken care of’, cooling expectations for fresh Chinese buying

By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson

BEIJING, May 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the existing purchase commitment by China means “soybeans are all taken care of,” tempering expectations for a higher buying target from China, as Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Beijing.

“And then soybeans, we have a very large purchase commitment from the Busan agreement for the next three years. So beans are really all taken care of,” he said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

Soybeans are the top U.S. export to China, the world’s largest buyer by far, and the oilseeds have played a key role in trade negotiations during the first and second Trump administrations.

Traders and analysts have said they do not anticipate Beijing to increase purchases beyond the commitment made last October, amid weak domestic demand and competitively priced Brazilian supplies.

Instead, markets are awaiting clarity on how China plans to fulfil last year’s pledge to import 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually through 2028, which would mark the highest level since 2022.

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

Last year, China bought just 15% of its soybeans from the U.S.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)