China says weaponising agriculture in US trade war should be off-limits

As the world awaits US President Donald Trump’s announcement of country-based tariffs, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece has made a case to avoid weaponising agriculture with mutually destructive trade policies.

With China being the world’s largest importer and the US being the largest exporter of farm goods, People’s Daily noted how the two economies are complementary in agricultural trade.

The state-owned newspaper cited data from the US Department of Agriculture saying China purchased nearly one-fifth of US agricultural exports in 2023, making it the largest buyer of US farm goods.

“Agricultural cooperation has always been one of the key pillars of the China-US relationship,” the newspaper said in an op-ed piece on Wednesday, adding that the two nations are “natural partners in agriculture” with mutual benefits.

With both countries being major trading partners in agricultural products, the industry has been a tool leveraged in their conflicts.