UPDATE 1-China oil demand improving, cashflow "tight"-Sinopec

(Updates with comments, details throughout)

BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - Refiner Sinopec Group's top executive said Chinese oil demand is improving and its domestic fuel sales are up more than 10 percent versus December, but warned that the company's cash flow remained "tight".

Su Shulin, the group's general manager and chairman of its listed arm Sinopec Corp (0836.HK) (600028.SS), said on Thursday that daily refined fuel sales in the world's No. 2 consumer had risen to 310,000 tonnes from 280,000 tonnes in December.

"With the economic slowdown, cashflow is fairly tight because of falling sales and falling prices," he also told reporters at the opening of the National People's Congress. He said Sinopec was lowering crude oil runs due to the relatively weak market, confirming reports from trade sources in recent months.

But he added: "The demand for refined oil products has shown signs of recovering."

He said there were no delays in a major refinery building programme. The company plans to build a 200,000 bpd refinery in Caofeidian, but the project has not been approved by the government.

China's implied oil demand fell in the final two months of 2008 as a global recession bit deep into export industries, car sales collapsed and refiners slashed production in order to whittle down record high fuel inventories.

But signs of rising refinery output and easing stockpiles have raised hope of a relatively quick revival in demand, while comments suggesting an increased stimulus spending programme aided a nearly 9 percent surge in oil prices on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jim Bai; Writing by Jonathan Leff; Editing by Michael Urquhart)