Crude oil imports through south China's Guangdong Province amounted to 35.18 million tons in 2009, up 8.2 percent from the previous year, local customs sources said Sunday.

The imports were valued at 15.38 billion U.S. dollars, down 32.8 percent.

The average price of oil imports stood at 437 dollars per tonne for the whole year, but it was noteworthy that the price rose month on month and peaked at 561 dollars per tonne in December from 298 dollars in January, the Guangdong customs said.

The Middle East remained the major supplier of crude oil, the customs said.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's reliance on crude imports hit a record high at 50.59 percent in the first 11 months of last year, surpassing the 50-percent warning level and representing a rise of 2.57 percentage points over the same period of last year.

Experts believe the reliance will intensify further, as demand remains strong from China's industrialization and urbanization drives and from the expanding motor vehicle sector.

To ensure China's energy security, they suggest that construction of the national oil storage system should be revved up, industrial restructuring should be accelerated and substitutes for oil should be searched.