BEIJING, China: China said on May 16 that it had reached preliminary agreements with the United States to reduce tariffs on agricultural products and address market access barriers, offering one of the clearest signs of progress following this week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides had agreed to expand two-way trade and resolve longstanding issues affecting U.S. exports of products such as soybeans, beef, and poultry.
The agreements are "preliminary" and will be "finalized as soon as possible," the ministry said.
The ministry said both countries plan to promote agricultural trade through reciprocal tariff reductions, although it did not specify which products would be affected.
China's imports of U.S. agricultural goods fell 65.7 percent in 2025 to US$8.4 billion after tariff disputes sharply reduced trade. U.S. farm products entering China still face an additional 10 percent levy.
China resumed buying some American farm goods after an October meeting and fulfilled a U.S.-stated commitment to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans by the end of February. It has also bought U.S. wheat and large volumes of sorghum.
Market participants expect a 10 percent reduction in soybean tariffs, which could allow private Chinese crushers to resume purchases that were largely halted during last year's U.S. harvest.
"Tariff reductions on agricultural products would mark a normalization of China-U.S. farm trade, allowing commercial buyers to re-enter the market," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting.
The Commerce Ministry said both countries also agreed to "resolve or make substantive progress" on non-tariff barriers and other market access issues.
China said it would address U.S. concerns over registration of beef-processing facilities and poultry exports from certain states.
On May 15, Beijing granted five-year registration extensions to 425 U.S. beef plants that had largely been shut out after their approvals expired. It also approved 77 new five-year registrations for additional U.S. facilities.
Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said on May 15 that Washington expects China to buy "double-digit billions" of dollars' worth of American farm products over the next three years.
Neither side has yet released details on the specific products, quantities, or dollar values covered by the agreements.
