Chinese state-owned companies bought about 1.5 million tons of US soybeans for shipment in July and August, which was their second major acquisition of supplies in the US this month.

Soybean purchases were primarily for shipment from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. They were also the last in a series of purchases of goodwill in the United States by Chinese government firms since December, when the United States and China agreed to defuse the trade war and both sides tried to negotiate.

The purchase takes place at a time when US and Chinese officials are meeting in Beijing to negotiate an end to the protracted trade war between the two economic giants that have reduced US exports to China, especially soybeans.

US officials told Reuters that, as a positive sign for negotiations, China has put forward proposals on a number of issues that go further than before, including the forced transfer of technology, which until now has been a particularly serious obstacle to the negotiations.

More recently, Chinese buyers booked about 1.7 million tons after trade negotiations between the US and China in Washington, during which US officials said Beijing had promised to buy an additional 10 million tons of oilseeds.

According to deals concluded on Thursday, the total volume of purchases by China of the last soybean crop in the United States will be about 12.7 million tons, compared with 28.5 million tons sold at the same level last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.