INDUSTRIAL REHABILITATION In Deyang, Sichuan Province, one of the hardest-hit areas in the Wenchuan earthquake, some enterprises are resuming productionsOil Imports Surge

Oil Imports Surge

China's oil imports posted double-digit growth in the first five months of 2008 as global crude prices more than doubled from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on June 11.

The country imported 75.97 million tons of crude oil, up 12.7 percent from a year earlier, with average prices rising 64.1 percent to $689.9 per ton.

Imports of oil products jumped 17.3 percent to 17.34 million tons. Prices soared 66.9 percent to average $709.6 per ton.

Analysts said booming domestic demand, notably from the severe winter and quake reconstruction, fueled imports.

Crude oil exports totaled 950,000 tons, valued at $570 million, while exports of refined oil stood at 6.48 million tons worth $4.85 billion.

Financing Spree

PetroChina Co. Ltd., the nation's largest oil producer, said on June 11 it plans to issue up to 60 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) worth of corporate bonds to reduce debt, supplement working capital and fund projects.

The bonds may be sold in several tranches and will have maturities of up to 15 years, the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This would be the company's largest ever bond sale.

The firm said it needs a large amount of capital through 2010 for projects, as well as to cover rising windfall tax payments on crude oil sales and government price controls on refined oils.

PetroChina also said its board has approved a plan to buy 208 pump stations and 25 fuel storage facilities from parent China National Petroleum Corp. for about 1 billion yuan ($142.9 million).

IPR Priority

China plans to dramatically increase its self-directed intellectual property rights (IPR) level and markedly improve the IPR protection situation within five years.

The State Council on June 10 promulgated an outline of the IPR strategy, under which it also plans to raise public IPR protection awareness over five years. By 2020, it says, China would become a country with a fairly high level of IPR creation, use, protection and management.

The key points of the strategy include the perfection of the IPR system, promotion of IPR creation and use, strengthening of IPR protection, avoidance of IPR abuse and nurturing respect for IPR, it said.

New Cabinet Research Chief

Xie Fuzhan, Commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was appointed by the State Council, China's cabinet, on June 10 as Director of the State Council's Research Office.

The office is considered a think-tank for the State Council. It drafts government work reports and other reports for major conferences of the State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and provides economic consultations and advice.

Xie, 54, has been head of the NBS since 2006.

Prior to that, Xie was Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council.