As the world’s fastest growing economy in the past quarter century, China is now
burning 6.3 million barrels of oil a day.19 Although still far behind the United States,
which consumes some 20 million barrels a day (mmb/d), China is projected to reach a
daily consumption level of 10mmb/d in roughly the next two decades (see Figure 16-2).
The view held by many analysts is that the Chinese market alone is responsible for 40
percent of the global increase in oil demand since 2000.