China, which is the world's largest importer of natural gas, imported 10.947 billion cubic meters of gas through pipelines and in the form of liquefied natural gas in March 2026. This is 13% less than the same period in the previous year, 12.57 billion cubic meters, the General Administration of Customs of China announced.
On the global liquefied natural gas market at the beginning of the year, the main factor was the cold weather in Europe.
European buyers in the fight for additional batches of liquefied natural gas offered significant premiums compared to prices in Asia. In March, the Gulf crisis began, which deprived the world market of a significant part of the supply of oil and liquefied natural gas and raised prices.
China receives gas through pipelines from five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Myanmar.
Russia is also one of the largest suppliers of liquefied natural gas to China.