Observers said Beijing could instead buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to address the bilateral trade imbalance US President Donald Trump has used as pretext to levy tariffs against Chinese goods.
The world’s second-largest economy imported 76.7 million tonnes of LNG last year, up 7.7 per cent, while pipeline gas imports rose 13.1 per cent year on year to 55 million tonnes, according to Chinese customs figures.
Its LNG imports from Australia totalled 26.2 million tonnes in 2024, accounting for about 34 per cent of total imports.
Russia ranked a close second, with its US$8 billion in pipelined shipments accounting for 38.1 per cent of China’s total. It was also the third-largest exporter of LNG to China – behind Qatar- with 8.31 million tonnes, or 10.8 per cent of total imports.
