BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's imports went up 14.1 percent year on year to 10.42 trillion yuan (about 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of this year, customs data showed Friday.

In the Jan.-Sept. period, China imported 336 million tonnes of crude oil, 64.78 million tonnes of natural gas and 24.59 million tonnes of refined oil.

Imports of iron ore and soybean dropped by 1.6 percent and 2 percent to 803 million tonnes and 70.01 million tonnes, respectively, during the same period.

Meanwhile, China's overall import price has grown by 4.2 percent. Major bulk commodities, including crude oil, natural gas and copper, have seen an increase both in volume and in price.

Li Kuiwen, a spokesperson with the General Administration of Customs, attributed the increase in imports to the government's favorable measures, including tax cuts, policies to optimize the business environment and tariff reductions.

China lowered its value-added tax on imports as well as taxes on vehicles and auto parts, medicines, and consumer goods in 2018.