The figure shows China traded in nearly 557,000 barrels of oil from Iran on a daily basis last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Customs data showed that China's full-year crude imports totaled 253.78 million tons, up by 6.1 percent in 2011.

China's overall crude imports for December 2011 stood at 21.92 million tons, up 5.1 percent in comparison with the same period in the previous year.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said a few days back that his country would continue oil trade with Iran. 'China's oil trade with Iran is a normal commercial activity,' he added.