The Chinese state agricultural conglomerate COFCO Group recently purchased a batch of soybeans amounting to "millions of tonnes" from the United States, it said in a notice on Saturday.

The purchase was part of the company's efforts to implement a "consensus" on trade agreed between China and the United States, it said in a notice on its website.

Soybeans have been a crucial element in simmering trade tensions between the two countries. China - the world's biggest soybean importer - cut off purchases from the United States in 2018, sending prices tumbling and leaving U.S. farmers struggling to sell off their record harvest.

Purchases ceased in July after Beijing slapped 25 percent tariffs on U.S. soybeans and other goods, retaliating against similar tariffs imposed by Washington.