Aerial photo shows imported soybean in bulk being transferred from a ship to containers in Huangshi New Port of central China's Hubei Province on Dec. 27, 2019. China Railway Wuhan Group Co., Ltd. started a regular cereal freight train for railway and waterway multimodal transportation from Huangshi of Hubei Province, to Chengdu of Sichuan Province. The new service will shorten the freight transportation time between Huangshi and Chengdu by seven days at least as compared with previous sole waterway transport. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

 China, the world's leading energy and food importer, bought more crude oil, natural gas and soybeans in the first four months of the year, customs data showed.

The country imported some 170 million tonnes of crude oil in the period, up 1.7 percent year on year, while natural gas imports rose by 1.5 percent to 32.33 million tonnes, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Coal imports expanded by 26.9 percent to 130 million tonnes.

During the period, China saw the inflow of soybeans grow by 0.5 percent year on year to 24.51 million tonnes, with the average purchasing price down 2.8 percent to 2,798.4 yuan (about 394 U.S. dollars) per tonne.

Amid disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, China's exports and imports dropped by 6.4 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, in yuan terms in the January-April period, leading to a 30.4-percent drop in trade surplus.