Adds details, background throughout

By Karl Plume

CHICAGO, July 6 (Reuters) - China's state-owned trader COFCO bought at least five cargoes, or at least 300,000 metric tons, of U.S. soybeans on Monday for shipment between September and November, two U.S. traders with knowledge of the deals said.

The purchase volume could be even larger as more deals are finalized, the traders said. One of the traders estimated the purchase volume as high as 10 cargoes, or about 600,000 tons, with shipments from both U.S. Gulf Coast and Pacific Northwest ports.

The deals come after recent trade talks between Washington and Beijing which, according to the White House, included Chinese commitments to buy 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans annually and boost purchases of other U.S. farm goods.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the White House around the end of September, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday.

China, the world's top soybean importer and largest foreign buyer of U.S. soy, has slowed purchases of American soybeans over the past year amid a trade war with the United States and ample supplies of cheaper beans from rival exporter Brazil.

U.S. soybean export sales declared to be for shipment to China in the current marketing year that ends on August 31 are down 47% from the same time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sales for the 2026/27 marketing year that begins on September 1 stood at just 200,000 metric tons as of June 25, USDA data showed.