China needs to drastically expand its supertanker fleet to safeguard the security of its oil supplies, sources said Friday.
China is now the world’s second largest crude oil importer. Imported crude accounts for 43 percent of its consumption. But over 90 percent of its imports are currently transported by foreign oil tankers, the Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.
The setup is both economically and strategically unsound, it said.
China has begun to build a strategic oil reserve system, but a strategic transport system is equally important, the newspaper said.