China's searing economic growth is unlikely to slow significantly in the second half of this year, Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of the powerful State Development and Reform Commission, said on Sunday.
China, struggling to rein in an economy which grew 9.8 percent in the year through the first quarter, has taken a series of measures to cool overheating sectors of the economy and ensure a soft landing.
"We have currently seen very strong fundamentals to support the economic growth in China," Zhang told reporters on the sidelines of an energy forum in Amsterdam.
"I don't think the growth rate of GDP will be reduced in a large amount in the second half (of the year)," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Zhang indicated that China's strong appetite for oil imports could decline in the second half of the year, if its economic growth were to slow.
"If the economic growth is put back to some appropriate level, of course the imports of oil will also be kept at an appropriate level," he said.
Explosive economic growth in China in the past two years has stoked a startling growth in energy demand, tightening world oil supply and contributing to rising prices.
Imports of crude into the world's second-largest oil consumer are expected to rise to 100 million tonnes this year, from 91 million tonnes last year, Zhang said.
He could not give a projection for next year, saying it would depend on how effective the tightening macro measures would be and on Beijing's attempts to increase the use of natural gas.
Some of the monetary measures included raising bank reserve requirements three times and curbing credit to sectors like property, steel and cement.
Zhang played down China's dependence on oil imports, saying his country covered two-thirds of its annual oil demand with domestic production of some 170 million tonnes a year.
He said Beijing, which has started to build up facilities for strategic oil reserves, was yet to start filling them and decide on their size.
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