China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that it is still open to expanding agricultural imports from the United States, but on one condition: the agreed tariff cuts, covering US$30 billion of goods on each side, have to be implemented first. Spokeswoman Huang Ling called farm trade a vital part of the relationship and urged Washington to help lower tariffs, ease non-tariff barriers and widen market access. The Board of Trade, announced after Xi Jinping's state visit to the US in September, came with a list of covered goods, but the lower rates did not take effect right away. On Monday, trade negotiator Li Chenggang met a US agricultural delegation to discuss the issue.

The timing is awkward for Washington. The Democratic Party won this week's midterms by a wide margin, and analysts say that could complicate talks before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month, because it raises doubts about whether the Trump administration can deliver on what it promises. China's purchases are also lopsided. The White House says Beijing committed to at least 25 million tonnes of US soybeans a year through 2028, plus another US$17 billion a year in other farm products, scaled down for 2026. A trader who asked not to be named said soybeans are the only part on track, with about 70 per cent of this year's target already bought and the rest likely done before year-end. Progress on the US$17 billion has been slow, which the trader put down to China waiting for the tariff cuts.

Beijing also showed it is not softening across the board. The commerce ministry said Thursday it will extend countervailing duties on US imports of n-Propanol, an industrial material used in packaging, for another five years.

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