“IMO, selling them soybeans and pork is no big deal.”
Oh, it is a big deal.
China has big issues with its agriculture. Most of the farms in the PRC are, or at least still or appear to be, very small. Many still use an ox or small tractor that looks like something from the 1950s. They also appear to be poorly run.
Most of the young people have left the farms and moved to the cities and a lot of the farmers are getting very old. There is an effort by the government to get younger people back farming again but I have no idea if it is working.
Poor agricultural practices like using human sewage as a fertilizer mean that the crops are often contaminated. Overuse and misuse of pesticides are rampant. Pigs are routinely fed steroids to make them grow faster. Look up the scandal with the poisonous powdered mild products several years ago.
I do know for a fact that many Chinese avoid food products produced in China. They don’t trust them more than you do, maybe less.
It is said here that “Demographics is destiny” that is true in more than voting. What happens when all those 60 to 70-year-old farmers die off?
Selling China food makes them dependant upon the US. That is, strategically a very good thing.
No nation can be a great power if it cannot feed itself. That is one reason why Japan and South Korea have such high agricultural tariffs
PDJT just subverted the entire Chinese economy.
I thought the Chinese were communist. That being said, they should have a never ending supply of farmers because it would seem the people would be forced into that occupation. Also, control of who goes where (kids going to city) would be implemented.