The Ministry of Commerce predicts that China will import 130 million tons of crude oil this year, making up around 6.8 percent of the world's total, and the growth rate will be 28 percentage points lower than 2004.

An official with the ministry attributed on Wednesday the decrease to global high oil prices, which restrain the domestic demand for finished oil.

According to industry experts, China will import 120 million tons of crude oil for general trade, up 4.3 percent year-on-year, and another 10 million tons for processing trade, a rise of 15 percent from 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2005)