China sees strong increase in raw material imports

China sees strong increase in raw material imports

Though China's automotive imports continued their decline in August, the opposite was true for coal and iron ore. According to statistics from the Chinese Customs General Administration, China's imports increased 23.4 percent year on year to $57.8 billion in August. The increase was 13.4 percent year on year in July. According to other statistics, China's iron ore imports during the same period increased 32.9 percent year on year to 176 million tons through January-August 2005 period. The country's iron ore imports in August reached 23.019 million tons. The country imported 16.7 million tons of coal during the January–August 2005 period, up 54.7% year on year. China's car imports decreased 23.9 percent year on year to 94.000 units in August. The drop in July was 29.4 percent year on year.