Soybean Photo: VCG

　　China is, quite simply, our largest and, in many ways, our most irreplaceable customer for US soybeans, said Jim Sutter, CEO of the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), in a written interview with the Global Times, stressing the high importance of the Chinese market for the American soybean industry.

　　The remarks were made as US-China trade, in which soybeans account for a significant share, shows a positive trend. According to the latest data from the USSEC, in market year 2024/25, a total of 22.6 million metric tons of US soy was shipped to China. Sutter said that he is "cautiously optimistic" that US soybean exports to China can reliably stay in the mid‑20‑million‑metric-ton range on an annual basis, given the high complementarity between the two sides, with China having been the key market for decades for the American soybean industry.

　　"We"ve been working in China for more than 40 years and over the last several decades, China has consistently been our largest export destination, often taking around half of all US soybean exports in a given year, which translates into billions of dollars in value for American farmers and the broader supply chain," said Sutter, noting that the trade supports jobs not only on farms, but in rural communities, transportation, export terminals, and related service industries across the US.