China increased oil imports by 9.5% in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, Report informs referring to the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
Meanwhile, the country increased natural gas imports by 19.6%, while coal imports decreased by 28.5%.
China imported 139.2 million tons of oil from January through March this year. In terms of monetary value, the purchase of crude oil from overseas cost China $56.6 billion, 3.9% down from the first quarter of last year.
In March, China imported 49.65 million tons of oil for $22.21 billion.
Imports of natural gas to China in the first quarter of this year amounted to 29.38 million tons worth $10.3 billion (an increase of 7.3% in price compared to January-March 2020).
In March, China imported 8.7 million tons of natural gas worth $3.05 billion.
Besides, in the first three months of 2021, China imported 68.4 million tons of coal worth $4.8 billion (in price terms, a decrease of 31.7% compared to January-March last year).