Crude oil imports averaged more than 5 million barrels per day for a month for the first time in December, up by more than a fifth from November at 21.26 million tons, while the total for 2009 rose 13.9 percent to 203.4 million tons.

The news release is quoted as saying:

The return to double-digit annual growth followed a 9.6 percent rise in oil imports in 2008 when prices rose beyond $100 per barrel. In 2009, China’s refineries racked up processing volumes to power a recovering economy, aided by a fuel pricing regime that largely guarantees a fixed margin. But in a sign the volume of oil imports might not reflect real demand, the country, traditionally an importer of refined fuel, flipped to being a net seller as a 64 percent leap in exports outstripped a 39 percent rise in imports.

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