DES MOINES, Iowa - A Chinese trade delegation signed agreements with US grain companies on Wednesday to buy 8.62 million tons of soybeans from the United States and will ink more deals on Thursday for a record-setting purchase topping 12 million tons.

Chinese powerhouses like COFCO Co Ltd, the country's largest State-owned grain trading house, and Sinograin, which manages state grain reserves, signed deals in Des Moines, Iowa, with Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Ltd, and Cargill Inc, among others.

The Chinese delegation was expected to sign more purchase agreements in Los Angeles on Thursday, which would bring the total amount to a record of more than 12 million tons, said Kirk Leeds, director of the Iowa Soybean Association.

The soybeans will come from supplies harvested last fall and the crop that will be planted this spring. The value of the purchases in total will be around $6 billion.

At a similar event last year, Chinese companies signed deals to buy 11.56 million tons of US soybeans valued at $6.68 billion in the then largest one-off purchase of US soy.