During a press conference in New Jersey, President Trump says that China is buying quite a bit of U.S. agricultural products.
“China has purchased the most amount of corn in history. Last week they purchased the two largest days, in history, of corn purchase and a massive amount of soybeans, also cattle,” the President states. “China has been buying a lot of things.”
The virtual trade meeting with China scheduled to happen on Saturday was canceled due to scheduling conflicts. So far, now new date has been set.
China is the largest beef importer in the world, and beef producers and advocates alike are eyeing the potential there under the new Phase One Trade Agreement. Housing one-fifth of the world’s population, NCBA director of international trade and market access, Kent Bacus, says that even one serving of beef per person is goal to strive for.
However, there are a few obstacles to overcome. “We got to get through the backlog of cattle and we got to come out of the cloud of COVID, but on the other side of that is a very bright future,” Bacus notes. “That could become a very profitable market for us in just the next few years, but you have to put that in context of all the other issues we have with China. You have big geopolitical battles between the United States and China.”
Those issues being a battle for sea lanes in the south China Sea and Southeast Asia, and China’s exertion of influence over its neighbors and other continents.