China's status as a growing consumer of raw materials and basic industrial goods, including platinum, has been confirmed by a new report.

The study by the Earth Policy Institute reveals that China's booming economy coupled with its massive 1.3 billion population has seen it overtake the US in the consumption of many key commodities.

It is now for the first time the world's leading consumer of grain, meat, coal and steel, with the report also underlining the country's embrace of platinum.

Lester Brown, the institute's president commented: "China's eclipse of the United States as a consumer nation should be seen as another milestone along the path of its evolution as a world economic leader.

"China is no longer just a developing country. It is an emerging economic superpower, one that is writing economic history."

According to the Washington-based institute, the Chinese economy expanded by 9.5 per cent last year, which is the fastest rate in eight years.

The report corroborates the findings of Johnson Matthey's evaluation of the platinum market earlier this week, which outlined the growth in demand among Chinese consumers for LCD in televisions and other electrical goods, while the automotive market remains one of the world's fastest growing.

The study also highlighted a dip in Chinese platinum jewellery demand, but this was in the context of a decade of dramatic growth.