By Karl Plume
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chinese agriculture officials who were due to visit U.S. farm states next week have canceled their trip to Montana as the officials will return to China sooner than originally scheduled, the Montana Farm Bureau told Reuters on Friday.
The cancellation came as U.S.-Chinese trade talks were held in Washington and U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a complete trade deal with the Asian nation, not just an agreement for China to buy more U.S. agricultural goods.
It was not immediately clear if visits to other U.S. farm areas were also canceled.
A Chinese Embassy official informed the Montana Farm Bureau that the delegation is returning to China sooner than expected so its goodwill visit, expected as early as Monday, was canceled, said Nicole Rolf, Montana Farm Bureau director of national affairs.
The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The trip had been scheduled for next week as part of an effort to build goodwill during trade negotiations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters on Thursday.
CNBC reported on Thursday that the group was slated to visit Montana and Nebraska.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and state officials in Nebraska did not immediately respond to request for comment.
