Imports rose 4.5% in March over a year earlier even as the world’s second-largest economy shut down to fight the virus and demand collapsed. For the first quarter of the year imports were up 5%.
As global prices fell, Chinese importers sent 84 tankers to Saudi Arabia in mid-March, each able to carry 2 million barrels of crude, according to news reports that cited the China Shipbuilding Industry Association. If enough additional storage capacity is built, the government might import 500,000 to 900,000 barrels per day for the strategic reserve, or 5% to 9% of China’s total foreign purchases, according to Lee.
The Communist Party commission said the plunge in prices gives Beijing a unique chance to build up that reserve but gave no indication the government was doing that.Cheaper crude is one of China’s few economic bright spots in the coronavirus pandemic. That is politically risky for the ruling party, which bases its claim to power on associating itself with China’s economic success.