China has shut down imports of several American agricultural products. Beijing has told various companies that they should no longer make purchases, writes Bloomberg news agency based on insiders.
China would rethink the trade deal with the United States because of the escalation of the Hong Kong conflict.
The call to pause purchases of soybeans and grain, among others, has only been made to state-owned companies.
Some of the agreed purchases of American pork have also been cancelled.
The buying pause is seen as a sign that the difficult-to-reach Phase 1 trade deal signed by the US and China in January is under pressure.
US criticism that China had done too little to stem the coronavirus outbreak was not well received in Beijing.
In addition, the US decided that Hong Kong will no longer be autonomous after China imposed a security law on the city-state.