China’s gas imports flat in May

Natural gas imports reached 10.10 million tonnes last month, the data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

This marks a 0.02 increase compared to May 2025, the data shows.

Natural gas imports rose compared to 8.42 million tonnes in April and 8.18 million tonnes in March.

The world’s largest LNG importer paid about $4.83 billion for gas imports last month.

Moreover, China’s gas imports reached 46.60 million tonnes in January-May of this year, down 4.9 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

The country paid $20.03 billion for these imports, down 10.1 percent year-on-year.

Separate data on LNG imports for May this year has not yet been released.

As previously published by LNG Prime, China reported a 10.3 percent drop in LNG imports in January-April this year.

China received 17.94 million tonnes of LNG during the three months.

In January, Chinese LNG terminals received 6.67 million tonnes, a rise of 10.5 percent year-on-year. February LNG imports dropped 13.9 percent year-on-year to 3.86 million tonnes, while March LNG imports decreased 19.2 percent year-on-year to 3.95 million tonnes.

China received 3.55 million tonnes in April, a 22.9 percent year-on-year decrease.

GECF said in its monthly report that China’s LNG imports in April declined to the lowest level since April 2018, mainly due to reduced supply from Qatar, while ample domestic supply and elevated spot prices limited the need for replacement purchases.

The country has been affected by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but not as much as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, or other Asian countries.

China was reloading LNG volumes in March and April and sending them to other Asian countries as prices soared amid the conflict in the Middle East.