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China hopes to maintain “stable and predictable” trade ties with the United States, Premier Li Qiang told visiting U.S. Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican on Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported. The meeting comes a week ahead of a highly anticipated presidential summit between the two countries.Li called for both sides to engage in more dialogue rather than confrontation, pursue more mutually beneficial cooperation rather than zero-sum games, and maintain stable economic and trade ties. Daines is leading a five-member delegation of US senators visiting Shanghai and Beijing ahead of President Donald Trump’s rescheduled trip to China next week.
The report said Li told the lawmakers that the Taiwan question remains a core interest for Beijing and the first red line that must not be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations. The warning was echoed by Beijing’s top legislator Zhao Leji, who urged Washington to handle the issue with caution when he met with the U.S. delegation. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that Taiwan “would be a topic of conversation” during the summit.
- Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, is also part of the delegation. Moran told AgriTalk’s Chip Flory Thursday that if there’s an agreement in the agricultural arena, his guess is that it would be for “specific purchases of specific goods – commodities – and for a period of time.”
Moran said he sensed interest in removing barriers to U.S. meat exports, but added that the delegation and Chinese officials have “talked about almost every crop in five states.”
USDA on Thursday reported weekly soybean export sales of 141,900 MT, a marketing year low and down 45% from last week and 51% from the four-week average. Soybean exports continue to run behind the pace needed to hit USDA’s estimate of 1.54 billion bushels for the current marketing year. That reinforces anticipation around next week’s summit meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with hopes high for some affirmation China will affirm what the White House says is a commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans a year for the next three years.
Freeze wheat impact low: Overnight freezes in Kansas may not have been hard enough for a long enough period of time to cause serious harm to the already suffering wheat crop, World Weather Inc. said in a Thursday morning update. An assessment will have to be made to determine the full impact. Some of the impact may not be clear until harvest since such conditions often result in the sterilization of the plant’s reproductive parts, leaving wheat heads empty of grain at harvest, the update noted.
Timing is everything: A series of well-timed bets on falling oil prices totaling as much as $7 billion during March and April were made across multiple exchanges and various types of fuel and derivatives just before major announcements related to the Iran war by President Donald Trump, Reuters reported Thursday, citing traders, market experts and an analysis of exchange data.
ABC News, citing unidentified sources, reported Thursday that the Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission were probing at least four trades where traders made more than $2.6 billion betting that oil prices would drop right before they did. Neither the DOJ nor the CFTC have publicly commented on the trades.
Consumers not lovin’ it: McDonald’s Corp.warned Thursday that worsening consumer sentiment will weigh on second-quarter results due to a run-up in gas prices and comparisons to a successful promotion last year, Bloomberg reported. In the US, bigger orders boosted sales in the first quarter, with the company pushing “Extra Value” meals that have brought in low-income consumers, said CEO Chirs Kempczinski.
Value remains a key component of the fast-food giant’s strategy, the report said. The menu continues to highlight items under $3, such as the Sausage McMuffin, along with a $4 breakfast combo.
- ‘Running out of money’: McDonald’s isn’t the only big corporation to sound the alarm on consumer spending in the face of rising gasoline prices. “They’re literally running out of money at the end of the month,” Kraft Heinz Co. Chief Executive Officer Steve Cahillane told Bloomberg in an interview.. “We’re seeing negative cash flows in the lower-income brackets where they’re dipping into savings.”
- “The war in Iran amplified consumer concerns about the cost of living,” Whirlpool Corp. CEO Marc Bitzer said Thursday on a call with analysts.
- “Our price-sensitive, more value-oriented guests seem to be staying home a bit more,” Dine Brands Global Inc. CEO John Peyton said on an earnings call this week, the report noted. The company, which owns the Applebee’s and IHOP chains, said there was no evidence of a similar pullback in other income levels.
Canadian cattle industry has beef with Mercosur: Canadian beef producers sounded the alarm over the government’s plan for a free-trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc, warning it could lead to a flood of cheaper meat, the Financial Times reported. A Mercosur deal has “pretty dubious benefits,” said Canadian Cattle Association President Tyler Fulton. Mercosur is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia in transition to full membership.
Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, the report noted, shipping 3.5 million metric tons last year worth $18 billion. Its exports in the first quarter of 2026 rose 18% in volume and more than a third in revenue, according to an industry body.China recently tightened access to its market, stoking fears that product will be diverted to other destinations.
- Ag bumps Brazil trade surplus: Government data showed Brazil’s trade surplus jumped 37.5% in April from a year earlier to $10.5 billion, boosted by strong shipments of key commodities including soybeans, crude oil, iron ore and beef, Reuters reported.