BEIJING, March 24 -- China's crude oil output posted steady growth in the first two months of this year, official data showed.

The output totaled 35.11 million tonnes in the January-February period, rising 2.9 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China's crude oil imports saw rapid growth during the period, NBS data showed.

China imported 88.31 million tonnes of crude oil in the first two months, climbing 5.1 percent year on year, according to the data.