BEIJING — China‘s oil imports rose 11.2 per cent in the first half of this year, from the year-earlier period, driven by booming economic growth, the government reported Wednesday.
Imports totaled 570 million barrels, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing customs agency figures.
Driven by sizzling economic growth, China has risen quickly to become the world‘s second-largest oil consumer after the United States and the No. 3 importer following the United States and Japan.
China is expected to consume a total of 2.4 trillion barrels of oil this year, Xinhua said, citing an estimate by the Energy Institute of the country‘s top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.
China met its own oil needs for decades from domestic fields but became a net importer in the 1990s as surging demand outstripped production.
source: 12jul2007
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