China is back at the soybean counter. Beijing has placed fresh orders for US soybeans in June 2026, extending a purchasing wave that has turned what was once a frozen trade corridor into one of the busiest agricultural pipelines on the planet.
The numbers behind the thaw
The buying spree traces back to a trade agreement finalized in late 2025, when former President Trump and Chinese officials hammered out terms that committed China to purchasing 12 million metric tons of US soybeans for the marketing year ending August 2026.
That deal didn’t stop there. It locked in a minimum of 25 million metric tons annually through 2028, essentially guaranteeing a multi-year floor for American soybean exports.
USDA data shows US soybean exports to China surged 57% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier. That’s a sharp reversal from 2025, when shipments had dropped to near-zero during the worst of the tariff standoff.
