And analysts say that the sharing of information will help US exporters compete against rival soybean sellers in Brazil – the top soybean exporter to China – and Argentina.

“This solution is unique,” Zhang said. “I believe we can work through it to differentiate US soy and generate stronger interest.”

Drought conditions in parts of South America, including Brazil, have hampered the country’s soybean crops since last year.

With that drought in mind, China is looking to hedge its “risks” by continuing to import from the United States, according to Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.

China vows domestic soybean output will increase 40 per cent by 2025

That means China will keep buying American beans despite festering trade disputes between the world’s largest economies, Ding said.

“Brazil has its climate problem to worry about, so it’s risky to over-rely on it,” he said.

The US-China trade war has wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of bilateral trade since 2018 while exacerbating political problems between the countries.

China imported 29.5 million metric tonnes of US soybeans last year, down 8.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Commerce data. It says US beans accounted for 32.4 per cent of China’s total imports in 2022.

Also last year, China bought 54.4 million metric tonnes of Brazilian soybeans, accounting for 59.7 per cent of China’s imports.

The need to secure sufficient soybean supplies to feed its people and livestock became even more critically important to China last year, as Russia’s war in Ukraine hobbled exports of wheat, corn and sunflower oil from the two farm-rich countries.

07:58

Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?

Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?

However, the world’s top soybean importer is also trying not to over-rely on American shipments, said Douglas Barry, a Washington-based consultant who follows China-US trade trends.

“China is more concerned than ever about food security and is reluctant to put all of their beans in the same basket, especially when the beans come from a supplier viewed as unreliable and hostile,” Barry said.

The innovation centre emerged from years of relations between the exporter council and the Henan provincial government.

The US is Henan’s largest trading partner, with soybean association members Cargill and ADM investing in the province already, provincial Communist Party committee deputy secretary Zhou Ji said at Wednesday’s opening ceremony for the innovation centre.

China’s soybean imports are facing a years-long annual decline: report

“The cooperation between the US Soybean Export Council and Henan to establish the innovation centre is a major event to promote in-depth cooperation between the two parties and achieve mutual benefits and win-win development,” Zhou said.

Their cooperation comes as Chinese officials have repeatedly been sounding alarms over food security. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed setting soymeal rations in animal feed at under 13 per cent by 2025, compared with last year’s 14.5 per cent.

“The trade war with the US and the hot war between Ukraine and Russia are sources of anguish for people in China who care about food security,” Barry said.

Longer term, China aims to cut its reliance on imports by growing more of its own soybeans in Heilongjiang, a northeastern province particularly suitable for the crop. Heilongjiang set out last year to boost soybean production by planting 666,667 hectares (1.6 million acres).

China’s soybean cropland reached 10.2 million hectares last year, up about 21 per cent over 2021.