China's State-owned companies significantly increased their purchases of U.S. soybeans, while other Chinese companies bought mainly from South America last year. China's customs data show that soybean imports by Beijing-based companies--which include state-owned COFCO, Sinograin, and Chinatex--reached 22 million metric tons last year--10 mmt more than they had ever imported in previous years. Meanwhile, imports by companies registered in other Chinese provinces dropped by a nearly-equal amount of 9.7 mmt. Beijing-based companies accounted for nearly 25 percent of China's soybean imports last year, about double their share in earlier years.