China’s gas imports down in April

Natural gas imports reached 8.42 million tonnes last month, the data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

This compares to approximately 9.66 million tonnes in April 2025.

The world’s largest LNG importer paid about $3.6 billion for gas imports last month.

China’s gas imports reached 36.53 million tonnes in the first four months of this year, down 6.2 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

The country paid $15.22 billion for these imports, down 15.1 percent year-on-year.

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

As previously published by LNG Prime, China reported a 6.4 percent drop in LNG imports in January-March this year.

China received 14.42 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, while February LNG imports dropped 13.9 percent year-on-year to 3.86 million tonnes.

China received 3.95 million tonnes in March, a 19.2 percent year-on-year decrease.

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, or other Asian countries.

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