Soybeans, planes and rare earths: What they say about fragile U.S.-China trade truce

US President Donald Trump (L) meets with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of their visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026.Evan Vucci | Afp | Getty ImagesSoybean purchases, orders for Boeing aircraft and access to rare earths elements — three of the headline commitments underpinning the U.S.-China trade truce — are progressing at markedly different speeds ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday.Taken together, the uneven fulfillment record suggests the truce is performing its minimal function of keeping commerce moving and discouraging renewed escalation, but there is little willingness on either side to cede strategic leverage, analysts said."The truce is moving fastest where it costs least," Eric Xiao, head of sales for Asia at CMC Markets, told CNBC.The superpowers' May meeting reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to increase purchases of U.S. soybeans and buy 200 Boeing aircraft, while Chinese shipments of rare earths magnets are back underway after export controls were suspended for a 12-month period beginning last November.But delivery across the three commitments has been ...