China delegation’s cancelled US farm states visit ‘nothing to do’ with trade war talks, minister says

Vice-agriculture minister Han Jun said the planned visit to US farms in Montana and Nebraska was never confirmed and not due to failure in trade talks

Han says the cancellation of the visit was due to an adjustment in the delegation’s itinerary unrelated to trade negotiations

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Members of the Chinese delegation leave after deputy-level US-China trade talks in Washington, on September 19, 2019. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:15am, 23 Sep 2019Updated: 11:32pm, 23 Sep 2019

The cancellation of a Chinese trade delegation’s trip to American farm states, news of which roiled US markets, was not down to any failure in trade talks, according to a senior member of the delegation.

Han Jun, a vice-minister at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was quoted by China Business News, a state-owned media outlet, as saying “the change in the plan had nothing to do with the trade negotiations, as the trip was a stand-alone arrangement”.

The planned trip to farms in Montana and Nebraska will be rescheduled at a later date, Han said, pending an invitation by the United States. Han, also a deputy director at the Office for Central Leading Group on Rural Affairs, added that the trip had never been confirmed.

“We indeed had discussed with the US side about relevant arrangements, but the schedule was never finalised, due to various considerations, for now we haven't scheduled a trip to US farming states,” Han was quoted as saying.

There had been much speculation last week that Han’s planned visit to rural states meant a deal on Chinese purchases of agricultural goods was imminent. However, reports that the Chinese delegation headed by vice-finance minister Liao Min had cut their trip short sent US stock indices reeling on Friday.

Concerns that the talks had hit another wall were reinforced by comments from US President Donald Trump, who called China a “threat to the world” and ruled out the possibility of a “partial deal” with China. This put a dampener on hopes that the high-level Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu He, expected to travel to Washington for talks in October, would be able to seal a trade war truce.