Trump was completely stunned. Just after announcing the sale of over $10 billion worth of large-scale military equipment to Taiwan, China canceled an order for 132,000 tons of American white wheat.
On December 17, the Trump administration announced a military sales plan to Taiwan worth $11.1 billion, setting a record for the highest amount in U.S. military sales to Taiwan.
This batch of military sales includes 82 sets of 'HIMARS' long-range precision strike systems, 420 army tactical missiles, 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, and other military projects, covering key equipment in land, sea, and air domains. The U.S. claims this move is aimed at assisting Taiwan in maintaining 'self-defense capabilities,' but it seriously violates the One China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the U.S., and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs.
Less than 24 hours after the military sales news broke, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a late-night announcement confirming that China had canceled the order for 132,000 tons of American white wheat in full.
This transaction, which was originally the largest wheat deal between China and the U.S. in 2025, suddenly fell through, catching Trump's team off guard after they had just celebrated. Wheat futures prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped to an eight-week low, down 10% from the November peak.
This is not a simple business decision but a precise countermeasure from China in response to U.S. provocation. After the Kuala Lumpur negotiations between China and the U.S. in October, American media had reported with great fanfare that China had resumed purchases of U.S. wheat, at a time when Trump had promised farmers more orders from China in a speech at the Agricultural Association.
Now, with the cancellation of orders, the impact is rapidly manifesting within the U.S. The canceled 132,000 tons of wheat mainly comes from Iowa, where local agricultural cooperatives have urgently convened meetings,
