Imported soybeans seen at a port in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province in August, 2018. Photo: IC

China will increase purchases of US agricultural goods, to facilitate the signing of a phase-one trade deal with US, said Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) spokesperson Gao Feng on Thursday.

The US side will create positive conditions for such purchases, which are based on market principles, the MOFCOM spokesperson told a press conference.

Since the beginning of the year, Chinese companies have purchased agricultural products that include 20 million tons of soybeans, 700,000 tons of pork, 700,000 tons of sorghum, 230,000 tons of wheat and 320,000 tons of cotton from the US, Gao said, revealing the same information disclosed earlier this week by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

US President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday (US time) that a phase-one deal will be signed in the near future, and that China has already started buying US agricultural products.

China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that China and the US are unanimous in agreeing to sign a trade agreement.

Based on the needs of the domestic market, Chinese companies have been independently purchasing agricultural products from the US in a market-oriented manner, Gao said.

China and the US achieved substantial progress in multiple areas after holding a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations last Thursday and Friday in Washington, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"I cannot disclose further details," Gao said, noting that China always holds the belief that trade talks can only make progress on the basis of equality and mutual respect to reach something both sides can accept.

"The ultimate goal of trade consultations is to put an end to the trade war, cancelling all the tariffs in place," Gao said. "We hope new progress will be made in removing tariffs."

China and the US are working on text of the agreement for a phase-one deal, which can disperse uncertainty and stabilize market confidence, said Gao.