Beijing may instruct state-owned companies to buy expensive American soybeans to please Trump

his planned visit to China in April, hoping to win other concessions from Washington, traders and analysts said. “Is there any market logic now for China to buy significantly more U.S. soybeans just as the Brazilian crop is coming on the market? No. But could it pave the way for an even more productive and profitable state visit by Trump in April? Maybe,” said Ewen Rogers Pei, director of Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China. Soybean futures in Chicago traded near a two-month high on Thursday on expectations of stronger demand from China. Trump said China was considering buying 20 million tonnes of US soybeans this season after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday that he called “very positive.” State-owned companies Sinograin and COFCO have already bought about 12 million tonnes of US soybeans since October, after trade talks with the US began, paying almost $100 million more than they would have paid for Brazilian soybeans based on market prices. The rise in ...