China has allowed more independent players into the state-dominated oil import business to meet its global free-trade commitment, but the latest round of licencing is seen as a cosmetic move, traders and analysts said.

Beijing granted licences to two firms to import crude oil and 15 companies to import fuel oil, both under the category of non-state traders outside of China’s top-four state oil traders.
China is slowly freeing up its oil trading after joining the World Trade Organisation in December 2001. Under the commitment, it is expected to allow foreign oil firms and independent Chinese traders into the retail sector from the end of this year and the wholesale business from end-2006.
“They (new crude licenses) don’t mean much. Two oil giants have the ultimate control over how much crude is needed and what price we’d like to pay,” said a Beijing-based trader.