China has renewed export licenses for more than 400 US beef plants following a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The US Meat Export Federation welcomed the move, which comes after a trade war disrupted exports and caused market access issues. However, US producers face tight supplies and rising prices, limiting the immediate impact of the renewed licenses.
Cattle are prepared for auction at Giddings Livestock in Giddings, Texas, US, May 4, 2026. China has renewed export licenses that had expired for more than 400 US beef plants, according to the Chinese customs website on Friday, May 15.
This comes after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded their summit in Beijing. The renewal is a significant development following the trade war between Beijing and Washington, which had previously disrupted US beef exports to China.
In 2022, US beef exports to China reached a peak of US$1.7 billion (S$2.2 billion), but over the past year, more than 400 US plants lost their export eligibility as Beijing's permissions, initially granted between March 2020 and April 2021, lapsed without the usual renewals. This accounted for roughly 65 percent of the once-registered facilities.
Dan Halstrom, CEO of the US Meat Export Federation, welcomed the news, stating that China's renewal of US beef establishments is excellent for the US beef industry and for Chinese customers eager to resume purchases. The federation confirmed that China granted five-year registration extensions to 425 overdue US beef plants and new five-year registrations for 77 additional US facilities.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the long-awaited licenses had been approved during the US and Chinese leaders' meeting, although Chinese customs appeared to halt the clearances hours later. On Friday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both sides had agreed to address concerns regarding market access for agricultural products. While American producers welcomed the approvals, they were not anticipated to result in a surge of exports from the US, where supplies are tight and prices are soaring.
US beef prices have set records this year due to strong domestic demand and as the nation's cattle herd dwindled to a 75-year low. Earlier this week, Trump was considering executive actions to facilitate increased beef imports to cool domestic prices. Austin Schroeder, an analyst for commodity advisory firm Brugler Marketing & Management, noted that the US currently lacks the supply to be exporting beef.
Cargill CEO Brian Sikes was among the US CEOs accompanying Trump on his visit to China. Facilities owned by Cargill, a major US producer of ground beef, and other meat companies were included in the approvals
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