BEIJING, August 8. /TASS/. Natural gas imports by China moved up by 7.6% year on year to 66.87 mln metric tons in January-July 2023, the Main Customs Administration of China reported.

Oil imports surged by 12.4% annually to 325.75 mln metric tons in the reporting period.

According to data posted on the Customs’ website, natural gas imports edged up by 1.1% in value terms to $36.9 bln in January-July 2023. Oil purchases overseas dropped by 12.3% year on year to $187.29 bln at the same time.

According to Chinese customs, imports of Russian oil gained 8.2% in 2022 to 86.24 mln metric tons. Russian LNG imports surged by 44% to 6.5 mln metric tons last year.