China Agrees to Boost Farm Purchases After Tense Call Washington

After an hour-long call with President Xi on November 24, President Trump told reporters that Beijing has "more or less agreed" to accelerate its agricultural purchases. The conversation covered much ground, moving from trade logistics to the heating tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan. Speaking from Air Force One the next day, Trump sounded confident that his push for faster orders was successful, predicting the results would "surprise you on the upside."

These negotiations are happening at a delicate moment for the region. Tensions flared earlier this month when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that a Chinese move on Taiwan could spark a military response from Tokyo. Beijing didn't take the comment lightly, hitting back with travel restrictions and bans on Japanese seafood and films. Trump says he kept Takaichi in the loop, calling her to debrief on his conversation with Xi, a call he described as "great."

Beyond the immediate geopolitical flare-up, the U.S. is currently pushing to finalize the details of a trade truce reached last month in South Korea. The administration's primary goals are to secure "general licenses" for U.S.-bound exports of Chinese rare earths by the end of the month and to revive Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, which had stalled for most of the year following expanded U.S. tariffs.