Soybean futures climbed above $13 per bushel, approaching their highest level since December 2023, as China accelerated purchases of US supplies ahead of harvest and a potential visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington later this month. Chinese buyers purchased roughly 1 million metric tons of US soybeans this week, bringing overall intake to just under half of Beijing’s commitment to buy 25 million metric tons annually through 2028. State-owned buyers Sinograin and COFCO are among the entities driving the purchases. The USDA reported 272,000 metric tons of US soybean sales to China for the 2026/2027 marketing year and 206,500 metric tons to unknown destinations. Earlier figures in the topic reported 340,000 tons to China and 100,000 tons to undisclosed destinations, indicating a discrepancy between reporting periods or data updates. The buying comes as Brazil’s oilseed inventories tighten and China continues to impose a 10% additional tariff on US goods, including agricultural products. A tariff reduction could allow private Chinese crushers, which have been priced out under current duties, to resume buying American supplies. The purchases follow a framework from President Donald Trump’s May summit with Xi in Beijing, under which China also pledged to buy $17 billion of other US agricultural goods annually through 2028. Trump said in late July that Xi’s visit was penciled in for Sept. 24, but Beijing has not confirmed the date or specified planned purchase volumes. Traders are also monitoring USDA estimates for US production, yields and ending stocks; the latest crop assessment rated 58% of crops good to excellent.