China’s gas imports down in May

The data from the General Administration of Customs shows that natural gas imports reached 10.10 million tonnes in May.

This compares to 11.33 million tonnes in May 2024 and 9.66 million tonnes in April 2025.

The country paid about $4.34 billion for gas imports last month.

China’s gas imports reached 49.05 million tonnes in the first five months of this year, down 9.5 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

The country paid $22.3 billion for these imports, down 16.6 percent year-on-year.

The data previously showed that China’s natural gas imports rose by 9.9 percent to 131.69 million tonnes in 2024, while LNG imports increased by 7.7 percent to 76.65 million tonnes last year.

Official data for LNG imports in May this year has not yet been released.

During January-April, China imported 20.06 million tonnes of LNG, a decrease of 22.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

Japan overtook China in the first four months of this year as the world’s biggest LNG importer.

It’s worth mentioning here that China said in February it would impose 15 percent tariffs on imports of coal and LNG from the US after President Donald Trump imposed a tariff on goods from the country.

Several reports claim that China has not been importing US LNG since then.