China’s Ministry of Finance announced Thursday that it would spend RMB154.6 billion (US$24.7 billion) in 2015 to build up commodity reserves of edible oils, grains and “other materials” (possibly including crude oil), a 33% rise over last year when spending rose 22%, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the ministry’s annual report to the annual meeting of the mostly rubber-stamp National People’s Congress currently in session in Beijing. China imported record levels of oil, iron ore, copper and other commodities last year as prices for many key commodities fell to their lowest levels in more than half a decade.
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