A Chinese resources minister said Monday the value of China's exports and imports of mineral products exceeded US$100 billion annually in recent years.

Addressing a seminar on China's mineral resources and sustainable supply, Tian Fengshan, minister of Land and Resources, said that the trend of diversifying the country's suppliers of mineral products will continue.

China's entry into the World Trade Organization has made it easier for it to expand foreign trade in mineral products and to take advantage of the international market and overseas mineral resources, said the minister.

However, he noted, China is a big developing country with a population of about 1.3 billion, and it will not be able to rely mainly on its own mineral resources for some time to meet the growing demand.

Moreover, he acknowledged, the country's demand at present outweighs supply because growing demand has outpaced the growth of newly discovered mineral resources.

China has been a net importer of petroleum for the ninth consecutive year and its imports are rising drastically, he added.

China's reliance on imported iron, copper, manganese, chrome and other metal mineral resources is growing while the trade deficit for mineral products is expanding, he added.

( June 11, 2002)