Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng has announced that importers from China formed deals to purchase soybeans and pork from the US ahead of the trade talks.
The announcement follows the decision of China to remove the tariffs on soybeans, which is the country's biggest import from the US.
Feng claimed that Chinese importers have "completed deals to buy soybeans and pork of considerable scale" from the US but did not offer specific details on these deals. Negotiators from China and the US are set to meet in October in Washington for a 13th round of talks to end the two countries' dispute over trade and technology.
In June, US President Donald Trum and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping made an agreement to resume talks but no progress has been made. Trump previously decided to postpone the scheduled tariff increase on Chinese imports from October 1 to October 15.
The scheduled talks could potentially extend that indefinitely.
Gao said he hopes for a "mutually beneficial and win-win solution" to the dispute in response to Trump's suggestion of coming up with a complete settlement, which could mean that a temporary, short-term deal would be off the table.
While the Chinese government has agreed to cut down its trade surplus to the US, its trading partners have complained that the it has refused to roll back its industrial development plans that violate its market-opening commitments.
The increases in tariffs enforced by both governments on billions of dollars of goods from each side have largely affected farmers and manufacturers in both countries. In May, talks broke down over how an agreement would be enforced.
China argued that as soon as an agreement takes effect, US tariffs should be lifted immediately. However, the US insisted on retaining some of the duties to ensure that China would hold its end of the bargain.
