Beijing – SABA:
China sharply reduced imports of several American goods last month—in some cases to zero—amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
A "Bloomberg" report published Monday stated that China halted purchases of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and wheat in March.
According to Chinese customs data, US LNG previously accounted for 5% of China’s imports, while US wheat made up 17%.
The drop in US wheat and LNG exports to zero followed China’s imposition of retaliatory tariffs on American products. In February, Beijing introduced tariffs ranging from 10% to 15% on energy imports, followed by similar measures on agricultural goods in March.
China’s purchases of US goods are expected to decline further after trade tensions intensified in early April 2025, when both sides imposed sweeping tariffs exceeding 100% on each other’s products.
Other US agricultural exports to China also saw a sharp decline in March. American cotton imports fell by 90% compared to the same month last year, dropping to just over 14,000 tons. Corn imports plunged to less than 800 tons—the lowest level since February 2020.
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