Although China＇s petroleum and chemical industry maintained sound growth in the first half of 201l, with output value up 34.4 percent to reach a record high of 5.32 trillion yuan （US$825.84 billion）, China＇s foreign crude oil dependency ratio recorded 55.2 percent, the first time exceeding that of the United States, according to a report released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） in early August this year.