China's imports of major commodities rise in first five months

China imported more major commodities in the first five months of the year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday.

The country's imports of crude oil climbed 7.7 percent year on year to 205 million tonnes during the period, while those of refined oil rose 3.7 percent to 14.79 million tonnes.

A total of 39.43 million tonnes of natural gas were imported during the period, up 13.4 percent from one year earlier. Imports of coal increased 5.6 percent year on year to 127 million tonnes.

However, iron ore imports during the January-May period declined 5.2 percent to 424 million tonnes. Soybean imports also went down 12.2 percent year on year to 31.75 million tonnes.

The customs data showed the country's total imports and exports rose 4.1 percent year on year to 12.1 trillion yuan (about 1.76 trillion U.S. dollars) from January to May.