BEIJING — China had 37.73 million tons of national crude oil reserves by the end of June 2017, according to a statement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The volume was up 13.5 percent from the reserves seen by the end of June in the previous year.

China is one of the world’s largest oil buyers, with over 60 percent of its oil consumption coming from imports. China imported 349 million tonnes of crude oil in the first ten months of 2017, up 11.8 percent year-on-year.

The state oil reserves had nine strategic storage bases, including those in Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Dalian and Tianjin, as well as some corporate facilities.

China’s state strategic oil reserve base program was launched in 2004 to offset oil supply risks and reduce the impact of fluctuating energy prices worldwide on the domestic market for refined oil.