Crude imports hit record in Dec

Crude oil imports surged to their highest level in December as China purchased record quantities from its trading partners, cashing in on the rapidly falling prices in the global market.

The country's crude oil imports rose 13 percent to 30.37 million metric tons in December, the highest growth rate during the year, while refined oil imports reached 3.2 million metric tons, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday.

Jing Yongping, a professor who specializes in energy and commodity trade at the Beijing Institute of PetroChemical Technology, said the global oil price slump caused by the continued exploitation of shale oil and gas in the United States, political conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and fluctuation in global commodity prices were the main factors that prompted China to increase its oil imports last month.