At China’s largest import expo, US exhibitors are hopeful worst of trade war is over

SHANGHAI – US exporters of agricultural goods to China are optimistic that trade between the two countries will be back to normal after a framework agreement reached in October by their leaders, according to several exporters and industry officials.

The mood in the US pavilion at the 2025 China International Import Expo (CIIE),

China’s largest import expo,

which began on Nov 5 and wraps up in Shanghai on Nov 10, is positive.

“I think people are very hopeful,” Mr Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which counts over 1,000 companies among its members, told Reuters at the US Pavilion, which housed exhibits from industry bodies dealing in wine, ginseng, potatoes and more, and was 50 per cent larger than in 2024.

“I think the reason why they’re here is because they want to engage with new customers. They want to find new opportunities for partnership, and I think they’re here because they think that’s going to happen,” he added.

The CIIE kicked off just a week after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea that led to a framework agreement to roll back a number of tariffs and export control measures that had been put into place in 2025, including some that had overtly impacted exhibitors of agricultural products such as soya beans and sorghum.

“We just had this successful meeting in Busan, and so we’re celebrating that, but (we) had plans to come even before that meeting. I think that’s important to note that we didn’t give up on the relationship, that we were working to maintain and continue to strengthen the relationship, even if there were some troubles,” said Mr Jim Sutter, chief executive of the US Soybean Export Council.

China had shunned soya bean purchases from the US 2025 harvest amid rising trade tensions between the two countries but has resumed purchases recently.

Mr Mark Wilson, chairman of the US Grains and BioProducts Council, pointed to recent shipments of soya beans and sorghum bought by China as a positive signal for future trade returning to normal. Prior to this year, China accounted for 95 per cent of the US export market for sorghum, he added.

“I do have hope that they continue talking, because if they can continue talking, they can hopefully work things out, because that's what it takes,” Mr Wilson said.

China’s expanding trade surplus

Despite optimism from the US agricultural associations in Shanghai, analysts say the latest trade detente hammered out by Mr Xi and Mr Trump may be no more than a fragile truce in a trade war with root causes still unresolved.

US soya beans still face a 13 per cent tariff, which analysts say makes US shipments to China too expensive for commercial buyers, compared with Brazilian alternatives.

The CIIE was launched under President Xi Jinping in 2018 to promote China’s free trade credentials and counter criticism of its trade surplus with many countries.

But the expo has its sceptics, as the country’s trade surpluses with other markets have only grown in the years since.

China’s trade surplus is set to exceed the record of roughly US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) in 2024 as exporters offset a plunge in US sales due to higher US tariffs by selling more to the rest of the world, often at a loss in pursuit of market share.

More than 155 countries, regions and organisations participated in the CIIE in 2025, the Commerce Ministry said. Over 4,100 overseas enterprises took part, with US companies maintaining the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year.

The expo in 2025 generated intended turnover of US$83.49 billion, an increase of 4.4 per cent over 2024 and a record high, state media reported. REUTERS