Record year for Chinese imports of commodities signals economic recovery
Beijing — China’s commodity imports jumped again in December, pushing 2016 figures for goods such as crude and iron ore to record levels. For 2016, shipments of oil, iron ore, unwrought copper, copper concentrates and soybeans hit record highs, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday. Coal was the exception, but imports were still up by a quarter on a year ago. Oil and soybeans also hit record monthly totals in December, while coal shipments were among the highest on record and iron ore notched up the third biggest volumes for the year. The splurge helped spur stronger-than-expected imports for the world’s largest trading nation. The data reflected a major recovery by the world’s second-largest economy as hefty government spending in infrastructure fuelled demand for base metals and steel, and Beijing’s efforts to clean up dirty industries like coal forced utilities to go abroad for lower-priced supplies. There is concern, however, that economic growth may slow in 2017,...
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