Additional buys of about 3 million tonnes were made after another batch of waivers was granted more recently, Li said, and another 1 million to 2 million tonnes more will be bought ahead of the next round of high-level talks. Li, a well-connected veteran analyst, declined to comment on the source of his information.
His comments come after Reuters reported on Wednesday that China had granted two batches of tariff waivers to Chinese soyabean buyers this month to encourage purchasing ahead of the October trade talks. Two traders with direct knowledge of the deals told Reuters that Chinese importers bought about 600,000 tonnes of US soyabeans after deputy-level trade talks in Washington last week.
China will have completed purchases of about 20 million tonnes of soyabeans from the US in total this year by the time top trade officials meet in early October, Li said earlier during a speech at the event. Purchases of US agricultural products like soyabeans, the biggest US farm export in terms of dollar value, are seen as key to securing a deal to end a bilateral trade war between the United States and China that has lasted more than a year.
China's soyabean imports from the US halted abruptly last year after Beijing slapped a 25% import duty on the product amid rising trade tensions with the US in July 2018. It has imported 14 million tonnes of US soyabeans so far this year, however, on deals done during a period of easing tension. Earlier this month, state news agency Xinhua said China would exempt certain volumes of soyabeans and pork from tariffs, a move seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of the October talks.