China has bought US soybeans for the first time since the trade war between the two countries started in July.
The country’s finance ministry also confirmed it would temporarily reduce tariffs on US car imports from 40% to 15%, beginning on 1 January.
The much anticipated moves follow a truce reached after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in December.
In announcing the tariff suspension, China said it hoped the two sides would speed negotiations.
US officials hailed China’s purchase of 1.13 million tonnes of US soybeans on Thursday as a "great step" - but said it remained uncertain if a broader deal would follow.
"Having a million, million-and-a-half tonnes is great, it’s wonderful, it’s a great step," said Steve Censky deputy secretary of the US Department of Agriculture.
"But there needs to be a lot more as well, especially if you consider it in a normal, typical year, we’ll be selling 30 to 35 million metric tonnes to China."
Analysts also cautioned against interpreting it as a sign that the trade war was cooling.
Chief economist Robert Carnell from ING Bank told the BBC that the recent arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and deputy chair, was far more indicative of the current state of the trade war.
"[It’s] a battle for technology, a battle for 5G," he said. "In particular, Huawei has become one of the world’s biggest suppliers of telecoms technology - and the US doesn’t really like that.
"[So that arrest] is giving you a much better, a much clearer message on where the trade war lines in the sand are really being drawn."
