SIMIC

A slump in US corn prices to a decade low was a good chance for China to buy millions of tons of the grain, but Mr Li said China is holding back because relations between the two countries have soured.

Tensions between the two deteriorated after US President Donald Trump blamed China for misleading the world about the scale and risk of the coronavirus, and threatened more tariffs.

"China has the ability to complete the US$40 billion purchases, but such purchases have to be based on a friendly atmosphere," Mr Li said during at an industry online conference.

Mr Li is one of the Asian nation's most influential agricultural advisers and an expert on the US-China trade war. His comments affirm concerns that the dispute about China's handling of the virus is already spilling over into trade flows, and that phase-one trade deal is at risk.