China Saving $100 Billion on Oil Imports

China will save $100 billion on its oil import bill in just six months thanks to the collapse in crude prices.

That assumes prices remain at current levels, said Boqiang Lin, a leading China energy economist.

“And we don’t have to do anything,” he added. Lin is dean of the China Institute for Energy Policy Studies.

Speaking at a CNN panel on emerging markets at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lin said China — the world’s largest importer of oil — was hoping prices stay low and give the economy a boost.
“Low prices give us momentum and job creation,” said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China.

Cheaper oil could also buy China time to pursue more economic reforms, he said.

via CNN