China Shows More Interest In U.S. Soy, Wheat

There was more evidence Monday that trade relations between the U.S. and China are back on track. A high-ranking Chinese official on Monday said Beijing may again put U.S. soybeans and wheat on its shopping list.

"We might increase imports of soybean and wheat," said Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong in remarks to Reuters News Service in New York, "if the price is correct."

The Bush administration's mid-November announcement of a new quota on some Chinese textile products prompted Beijing to postpone trips to the U.S. by Chinese soybean, wheat and cotton buyers.

But with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao set to meet with President Bush in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Beijing is back to its pre-Nov. 18 posture.

A senior aide to President Bush, briefing reporters, said the administration wants to strike agreements with Beijing that would "regularize" China's imports of "key commodities."

Editors note: Richard Brock, The Corn and Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.