President Trump told Fox News on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their bilateral meeting in Beijing to buy American soybeans, oil, liquefied natural gas, and 200 Boeing 737 jets, a sweeping set of purchase commitments the administration is framing as a major win for U.S. farmers, energy producers, and manufacturers.
The two leaders met for two hours and 15 minutes, the White House press pool reported. Trump made the announcement in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, with the full interview set to air Thursday evening. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was in Beijing with the president.
The reported jet deal covers 200 of Boeing's 737 aircraft, a significant order, though smaller than the 500 737 Max jets Boeing had previously been negotiating to sell to China. The White House readout of the meeting also covered far more than trade, touching on the Iran conflict and the strategic waterway that keeps global energy markets moving.
A White House official said in the meeting readout that Trump and Xi discussed the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz alongside business and trade. The official's language was pointed and specific.
"The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy."
The readout went further. The White House official stated:
"President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait in the future."
That last detail matters. If Beijing follows through, redirecting its oil purchases toward American suppliers would reduce Chinese exposure to a chokepoint that Iran could threaten, and it would send American energy dollars flowing back home. The readout also included a blunt joint statement: "Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."
Trump has pressed Beijing hard on Iran throughout the summit. Earlier in the trip, he warned China against arming Iran and said Xi pledged in writing to stop weapons transfers.
Trump's announcement of soybean purchases landed on top of an existing framework. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that China's soybean commitments are, in his words, already locked in.
As Newsmax reported, Bessent said:
"And then soybeans, we have a very large purchase commitment from the Busan agreement for the next three years. So beans are really all taken care of."
China previously pledged to import 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028. Analysts and traders do not expect Beijing to increase purchases beyond that commitment, which was made last October.
Bessent has also confirmed that China completed its initial commitment to purchase 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans. AP News reported that Bessent said China "did everything they said they were going to do" and that the administration is looking forward to next year's 25-million-ton target.
That context is worth noting. The soybean piece of Thursday's announcement may be less a new concession and more a public reaffirmation of deals already struck, though for American farmers watching commodity prices, the signal still carries weight.
Trump had previously put China on notice with a 50 percent tariff threat if Beijing was caught arming Iran, giving the administration significant leverage heading into these talks.
Thursday's meeting in Beijing built on a series of agreements reached since Trump and Xi met at the APEC summit. The wider framework includes tariff reductions, a pause on rare-earth export restrictions, and a Chinese pledge to tighten controls on chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.
Breitbart reported that China agreed to pause for one year its restrictions on exporting rare earths and critical minerals to the United States. Trump wrote at the time that "China has agreed to continue the flow of Rare Earth, Critical Minerals, Magnets, etc., openly and freely." He also said China agreed to work with the U.S. on stopping fentanyl flows and to begin purchasing American oil and gas, while the U.S. would lower its tariff rate on Chinese goods by ten percent from 57 percent.
Trump's delegation to Beijing included top American business executives. He brought Elon Musk, Nvidia's chief, and other leading CEOs to the summit, signaling that the trip was designed to produce commercial results, not just diplomatic communiqués.
The soybean commitment announced at the APEC summit covered 12 million metric tons for the current season and 25 million tons annually going forward. The New York Post reported that Bessent called the deal a "reset" that would make farmers "extremely happy." Trump told reporters his meeting with Xi at that time was "a 12 out of 10."
Still, American farmers have faced weak prices and high production costs despite the purchases and planned aid. Trump planned roughly $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by the trade war, including soybean, corn, and sorghum producers. Whether the new round of commitments changes the math on the ground remains an open question.
Several details from Thursday's announcement are still missing. Trump's exact words in the Fox News interview have not yet been published in full; the interview airs Thursday evening. China has not publicly confirmed the reported purchases of soybeans, energy products, or 200 Boeing jets. No specific terms, dollar amounts, or delivery timelines for the purchases have been disclosed.
The 200-jet figure also sits well below the 500 737 Max jets Boeing had previously been negotiating. Whether the smaller number reflects a scaled-back deal, a first tranche, or a separate agreement entirely is not yet clear.
And the energy piece, Xi's reported interest in buying more American oil to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, is framed as forward-looking. "Expressed interest" is not the same as a signed contract. The distinction matters for energy producers waiting to see if Beijing's words turn into tanker shipments.
Trump has also invited Xi to the White House for a September visit, suggesting both sides see value in keeping the diplomatic channel open and active.
For soybean farmers in Iowa and Illinois, for roughnecks in the Permian Basin, and for workers on Boeing's assembly lines in Renton, Washington, the question is not whether these announcements sound good. The question is whether Beijing follows through.
China has a long track record of making purchase promises during high-profile summits and then adjusting the pace of fulfillment to suit its own interests. The existing soybean framework, 25 million metric tons a year through 2028, gives the administration a concrete benchmark to hold Beijing to. The energy and jet commitments are newer and less defined.
What the administration has done is create a structure of public commitments that makes it politically costly for China to walk away. Trump's willingness to use tariff pressure, combined with face-to-face diplomacy in Beijing, has produced a set of pledges that would have been unthinkable during the previous administration's approach of quiet accommodation.
Promises from Beijing are worth exactly as much as the leverage behind them. Right now, that leverage is real, and it belongs to the man who flew to Beijing to collect.
