China\'s crude oil imports rose 6.7 percent in August from a year earlier to a three-month high of 21.04 million tons, or 4. 98 million barrels a day (bpd), latest government data showed. The figure was the highest since May, when the world biggest energy user imported 21.55 million tons (5.10 million bpd). Imports jumped 8.3 percent from July\'s 19.43 million tons (4.60 million bpd), the General Administration of Customs said on its Website. In the first eight months of this year, China imported 167.91 million tons (5.07 million bpd), up 6.4 percent from the same period of 2010. China\'s crude oil imports are now 55.2 percent of its total energy consumption, surpassing the 53.5 percent of the US, which Chinese industry experts described as \"threat to the country\'s energy security,\" the official Xinhua News Agency reported last month. Statistics from the Ministry of Information and Industrial Technology reveal that China\'s oil consumption surged 10.3 percent year-on-year in the first five months this year, while oil imports rose 11.3 percent over the same period. (end) mk.asa KUNA 121055 Sep 11NNNN