BEIJING — China's crude oil output reached nearly 199 million metric tons last year, up 2.4 percent from the previous year, official data showed.

The volume represented a 4-percent increase from the 2019 level, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

In December alone, 16.47 million metric tons of crude oil was produced in the country, up 1.7 percent year-on-year.

Last year, China's import of crude oil neared 513 million tons, 5.4 percent lower than the previous year, the data showed.