China agrees to buy more United States soybeans, as both economic rivals try to reach an initial deal on trade. According to Greater China Regional Director for the United States Soybean Export Council, Xiaoping Zhang said that during Sep and Nov this year, the Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans increased thirteen times from the same period last year. That depends on the analysis of the United States and Chinese statistics.

Exports of United States soybean fell rapidly in the 2nd half of the last year when China reacted to the United States’ duties with its own tariffs. In a phone interview with CNBC, Zhang said that after imposing tariffs on each other products, this year, all purchases of United States soybeans happened through specific arrangements, rather than usual trade channels that would otherwise relate the imports to retaliatory duties of around thirty percent.

On Friday, that trend was made public, when the Ministry of Finance of China said that Chinese firms import specific amounts of United States commodities independently and that the government of China is working on surrendering tariffs for pork, some U.S. soybeans, and other supplies, based on company applications. Formerly, China tended to describe its agricultural purchases of the United States in unclear terms, according to the needs of the Chinese market and market-based principles. The two largest economies of the world engaged in a trade dispute for more than a year, and both countries are imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods of each other.

“Phase-one” of Trade Deal between the United States and China

However, both countries remain far apart on matters such as the state’s role in the economy of China, and the two sides settled in October to work mutually toward a “phase-one” deal. Official statements of Commerce Ministry and reports indicate that reaching such an agreement involves settling on greater Chinese purchase of United States agricultural products as well as the rollback of reciprocal tariffs. According to China customs statistics accessed through the Wind Financial database, the exports of China to the United States fell twenty-three percent in November – the lowermost single-month progress rate on record, after adjusting for the holiday of the lunar year – whereas, imports upsurge 2.7%, the initial rose since August 2018.

Chief China economist at Nomura, Ting Lu said in a note that he attributed the rise in imports to a low comparison base, additional agricultural imports from the United States amid the trade dialogues, and potential front-loading of imports from the United States given plans of China to strike back to U.S. tariffs come into effect on 15 Dec. According to customs data of China accessed through the Wind Financial database, overall Chinese imports of soybean rose 53.9% in Nov to about 8.278 million tons, their maximum since Aug.

Read Also: Asia Stocks drop as Trump announce Delay in Trade Deal with China