China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that it will expand farm imports from the United States only once the agreed tariff cuts, covering US$30bn of goods on each side, are in force. Spokeswoman Huang Ling called farm trade a vital part of the relationship. She urged Washington to help lower tariffs, ease non-tariff barriers and widen market access.

The cuts belong to the Board of Trade, announced after Xi Jinping's state visit to the US in September. It 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.

So far only soybeans are moving. The White House says Beijing committed to at least 25 million tonnes of US soybeans a year through 2028, plus another US$17bn a year in other farm products, scaled down for 2026. A trader who asked not to be named said about 70% of this year's soybean target is already bought and the rest is likely done before year-end. Progress on the US$17bn has been slow, which the trader put down to China waiting for the tariff cuts. The ministry's condition says the same thing in public.

Beijing is not softening across the board. The ministry said on Thursday it will extend countervailing duties on US imports of n-Propanol, an industrial material used in packaging, for another five years. Conciliatory words on farm trade, alongside a duty extension, suggest Beijing intends to keep its own trade levers in play.

The timing is awkward for Washington. The Democratic Party won this week's midterms by a wide margin. 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.

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