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Representatives of 11 U.S. agricultural groups met Chinese counterparts in Beijing on November 2, 2023, to advocate for farm trade, including raising Chinese measures affecting U.S. distillers dried grains. The visit came amid strained U.S.-China relations and competition from Brazil for Chinese grain and oilseed demand. The Iowa purchase agreements mentioned around the visit were non-binding, not proof of completed or guaranteed deliveries.
What U.S. farm leaders discussed in Beijing
Dozens of U.S. agriculture industry representatives gathered in Beijing on Thursday, November 2, 2023, according to Reuters. The delegation included the U.S. Soybean Export Council, U.S. Grains Council and U.S. Wheat Associates, among representatives of 11 groups. Delegates were also scheduled to travel to Shanghai for the China International Import Expo.
The talks were an effort to sustain agricultural trade during a period of political strain between the United States and China. U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns told the gathering, “We’ve got a big complicated relationship, but agriculture is the ballast in the relationship.”
Distillers dried grains were a specific market-access concern
The U.S. Grains Council raised Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on U.S. distillers dried grains (DDGS), a byproduct of ethanol production used in animal feed. Council vice president Cary Sifferath noted that China had dropped an anti-dumping case involving Australian barley, but did not say the measures on U.S. DDGS had been lifted. He described a possible opening cautiously: “They suggested we talk with the domestic industry here to have them give their support in the need of the product and they brought up the fact that they’d recently dropped the anti-dumping case on Australian barley, so whether that shows some hope for U.S. DDGs, possibly. I’m not sure.”
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Why China mattered to U.S. farm exporters
China was a major destination for U.S. farm goods, but the figures depend on the time period and the products counted. Reuters reported in November 2023 that oilseeds and grains were the top U.S. export category to China, worth $25.4 billion “last year”—that is, in calendar year 2022. That category total is not the same as a soybean-only figure.
| Measure | Period and value | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. agricultural exports to China | Fiscal year 2022: $36.4 billion | All agricultural exports; USDA said China was the largest U.S. agricultural export market for a second consecutive year. |
| U.S. soybean exports to China | Fiscal year 2022: $16.4 billion | Soybeans, nearly half of U.S. agricultural exports to China in that fiscal year. |
| U.S. soybean exports to China | Calendar year 2023: $15.163 billion; nearly 27 million tons | Soybeans; value was down 15% and volume down 12% from 2022. |
The fiscal-year 2022 figures are from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service data published January 6, 2023. The calendar-year 2023 soybean figures come from USDA’s 2023 Agricultural Export Yearbook, published May 14, 2024. They show lower U.S. soybean export value and volume to China in 2023 than in 2022; the November 2023 visit itself is not evidence that the trend reversed.
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What the Iowa purchase agreements did—and did not—mean
Reuters said Chinese grain buyers had signed non-binding agreements in Iowa, described as worth billions of dollars and mostly involving soybeans. A non-binding agreement is not a completed shipment or a guarantee that future buying will occur. The visit and the agreements signaled engagement, but they should not be treated as proof of secured export revenue.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read later trade data
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS) page says its agricultural trade tables are updated monthly and directs users to Foreign Agricultural Service data for country- and commodity-level detail. The page showed an update dated September 8, 2026; its listed next update, October 9, 2026, was still in the future at that time. Readers comparing exporters or interpreting trade strength should distinguish export value from volume, fiscal from calendar years, total agricultural or oilseed-and-grain categories from individual commodities, and market-access barriers from demand.
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