China passed USA as Biggest Oil Importer in September 2013

China passed USA to become world’s biggest oil importer in September 2013 as per the data released by US government in the first week of October 2013. It happened because of faster economic growth and strong auto sales. The United States consumes far more oil per person than China does. It has a population about one-third the size of China’s.

China’s economy is the world’s second largest. China has encouraged development of wind and solar power and use of autos powered by batteries or natural gas. However, gasoline still remains the country's main vehicle fuel in coming decades.

Until the late 1990s, China fulfilled its oil needs but the economic boom outstripped its production capacity. This compelled China to depend more heavily on imports, especially from Saudi Arabia and Iran.