中国超越美国成世界最大石油进口国

China overtook the US as the biggest importer of crude last month, the culmination of a big shift in energy flows during the past decade.

中国上月超越美国，成为最大原油进口国，这标志着过去10年能源流动的大转变达到高潮。

Chinese customs data showed that oil purchases from overseas hit a high of 7.4m barrels a day in April, equivalent to one in every 13 barrels consumed and topping US imports of 7.2m barrels a day.

中国海关数据显示，4月份石油进口达到每日740万桶（相当于全球每日石油消费量的13分之一），超过美国每日720万桶的进口量。

While China’s imports are not expected consistently to surpass those of the US until the second half of the year, the move shows how the US shale revolution has cut the country’s reliance on oil from overseas and how China’s demand has grown even as its economy slows.

预计中国的石油进口量要到今年下半年才会持续超过美国。尽管如此，4月数据显示，美国页岩革命降低了该国对进口石油的依赖，而中国的石油需求在经济放缓之际有增无减。

Colin Fenton, managing partner at Blacklight Research, said China’s imports increased as it stockpiled oil.

Blacklight Research管理合伙人科林•芬顿(Colin Fenton)表示，中国扩充石油库存导致进口增加。

“It’s begun,” Mr Fenton said. “China’s crude imports have been above trend in four of the past five months.”

“这已经开始，”芬顿表示。“中国的原油进口在过去五个月中的四个月高出趋势线。”

Last month’s jump was partly due to higher shipments from Iran, according to consultancy Energy Aspects.

据咨询公司Energy Aspects介绍，上月中国石油进口跃升的部分原因是从伊朗进口的数量提高。

China Oil also bought a record number of Oman and Abu Dhabi crude cargoes in a public trading window that helps determine the region’s benchmark prices.

中国联合石油有限责任公司（Chinaoil，简称中联油）还利用一个帮助确定中东基准油价的公开交易窗口，购买了创纪录数量的阿曼和阿布扎比原油船货。

“Iran may be offering more discounts on its oil as part of an effort to increase ties with Chinese oil companies,” Amrita Sen at Energy Aspects said. “Iran is keen to secure more Chinese investment.”

“伊朗可能对它的石油提供更多折扣，作为其增进与中国石油企业关系的努力的一部分，”Energy Aspects的阿姆里塔•森(Amrita Sen)表示。“伊朗渴望获得更多的中国投资。”

China’s state traders are taking a more visible role in the crude market. They have built up more sophisticated operations to compete directly with established desks at western companies such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell, banks like Goldman Sachs, and commodity dealers such as Vitol and Glencore.

中国的国营贸易商正在原油市场上扮演更为显著的角色。他们已经建立了更高水平的交易部门，以便与西方企业如英国石油(BP)和荷兰皇家壳牌(Royal Dutch Shell)，银行如高盛(Goldman Sachs)，以及大宗商品交易商如维多(Vitol)和嘉能可(Glencore)的老牌交易部门直接竞争。

In the US, higher prices and more efficient vehicles curbed consumption in the aftermath of the financial crisis, while the surge in shale output over the past three years has reduced imports.

在美国，金融危机过后较高的油价和能效更佳的汽车抑制了石油消费，而过去三年激增的页岩油产量已减少了石油进口。

Producers are chafing at government restrictions on US crude exports that date back to the oil shocks of the 1970s.

产油企业不满美国政府对原油出口的限制，这些限制是上世纪70年代石油危机期间出炉的。

US imports might rebound in the short term, traders say, with fuel demand boosted by the collapse of oil prices to $65 a barrel. The price fall has also sharply reduced drilling activity in US shale regions such as North Dakota.

交易商们表示，美国的石油进口短期内可能反弹，原因是油价崩盘至每桶65美元提振了燃料需求。油价暴跌也大幅减少了美国页岩地区（如北达科他州）的钻探活动。

But the long-term trend is towards rising Chinese imports. The country is adding refining capacity with its economy growing at more than 7 per cent a year. “The world has a lot of oil,” one trader at a China firm said. “And we need a lot of oil.”

但长期趋势是中国的石油进口不断增长。中国正在增加炼油产能，而其整体经济每年增长7%以上。“世界有大量石油，”中国某公司的一名交易员表示。“而我们需要大量石油。”

For the US, reducing imports is a goal of politicians and foreign policy experts who see the country’s reliance on Middle Eastern crude as a national security risk. Before the financial crisis, the US imported as much as 10m barrels of oil a day — more than half the oil the country consumed.

就美国而言，减少进口是政界人士和外交政策专家的目标，他们将美国对中东原油的依赖视为国家安全风险。在金融危机之前，美国石油进口曾高达每日1000万桶，占该国石油消费量的一半以上。