Chinese buyers booked deals to buy 126,000 tonnes of US soyabeans, the US Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. The announcement comes just hours before the two countries are set to sign a Phase 1 deal in Washington aimed at defusing the trade war between the world's two largest economies. The agreement also calls for Chinese purchases of US agricultural goods to increase by some $32 billion over two years, or roughly $16 billion a year, according to a source who was briefed on the deal.

US trade experts have called the purchase targets unrealistic.

The latest sales to China - about two cargoes' worth - bring the country's soyabean purchases since the marketing year started on Sept. 1 to 11.298 million tonnes, according to USDA data.

A year ago, Chinese buyers had booked just 3.484 million tonnes of US supplies for the marketing year. But two years ago, before the trade war started, purchases totaled 25.642 million tonnes by mid-January.