Chinese state traders make large US soybean purchases

The White House announced in October that China had agreed to buy 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans annually until the end of 2028. Before Friday's purchases, China had bought slightly more than 4 million tons this year, reflecting China's strongest pace of buying of U.S. farmers' upcoming harvest in four years, according to USDA data.

State-run companies Sinograin and COFCO did not respond to requests for comment or confirmation of the purchases.

China's Sinograin sold about half of the 504,000 tons of imported soybeans on offer at auction on Friday as the state stockpiler makes room for incoming U.S. cargoes.

In late July, U.S. President Donald Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi would visit the country on September 24.

Markets are waiting to see whether China will remove tariffs on U.S. soybeans, which would allow private crushers to participate in purchases.

It remains unclear, however, whether U.S. soybeans would be competitive enough to attract these price-sensitive buyers.