APPEC-Transition to cleaner fuels seen dragging on China's oil demand growth

A police officer keeps watch as an oil tanker unloads crude oil at the port in Qingdao in Shandong province. — AFP

SINGAPORE: China's shift towards lower-carbon fuels and a sluggish economy are dampening oil demand growth in the world's largest crude importer, speakers at the APPEC conference said on Monday.

China's annual demand growth has slowed from around 500,000-600,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic to 200,000 bpd now, said Daan Struyven, head of oil research at Goldman Sachs.