China's GCC oil imports decrease in 2014

KUWAIT, July 20 (KUNA) -- The share of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) from Chinese oil imports started decreasing since the beginning of 2014, reaching 39.5 percent, according to a specialized economic report.
Commercial exchange between the GCC countries and China is usually highly active, it is not only limited to oil, but also involves other fields, said Kuwait China Investment Company (KCIC) in its report on Sunday.
China is currently the largest consumer of energy, depending on the GCC oil imports to cover the largest part of its fuel needs, the report noted. Other GCC imports to China were also affected, seeing a large decrease in the beginning of this year, unlike the increase it had in 2013, the report said.
Most of China's oil imports come from Saudi Arabia by 20 percent of the total of China's imports in general whereas the remaining 46 percent of total China's imports come from the GCC countries, the report said.
The level of China's oil imports from Kuwait is still steady on a low level, while the UAE imports are increasing, the report added. The amount of oil demands and changing prices in China affects its GCC import rates, the report noted.
The report expected the Chinese economy to go on a slow rate in the coming months, yet the rate of economic development may stay over seven percent. The report also mentioned China's efforts to have various energy sources, adding that since Saudi Arabia is the number one source of oil for China, this would decrease the amount of oil China imports from other GCC countries.(end) fh.tb.ag