China’s dependence on crude oil imports has been growing in recent years as its domestic production has faltered, and the world’s top oil importer covered 73.4 percent of its oil demand with imported oil in the first half of 2020. According to Chinese data, analyzed by Radio Free Asia ’s Michael Lelyveld, China has been buying record volumes of crude oil over the past months in order to bolster its energy security, especially at a time when its relations with the United States are deteriorating. Over the past decade, China’s oil production has been falling while its oil demand has been soaring, increasing Beijing’s dependence on sourcing oil from abroad. The Chinese authorities have recently launched a plan to boost energy security by ordering state oil giants to increase domestic oil production. In the first half of 2020, China’s crude oil production did increase, by 1.7 percent year on […]