China’s LNG imports down 22.9 percent in February

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the country received 4.54 million tonnes last month. This compares to 5.95 million tonnes in February 2025.

Also, the data shows that Chinese LNG terminals took 6.06 million tonnes in January, down 16.1 percent year-on-year.

During January-February, China imported 10.60 million tonnes, a decrease of 19.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

Natural gas imports, including pipeline gas, reached about 20.31 million tonnes in January-February, down 7.7 percent compared to 2024.

China’s pipeline imports rose 7.6 percent year-on-year in February to 5.01 million tonnes, while pipeline imports increased 10.8 percent year-on-year to 4.70 million tonnes, the data shows.

GECF’s February report showed that China’s LNG imports fell to their lowest level since June 2022, driven by weaker gas consumption, higher pipeline gas imports, and increased domestic gas production.

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

This includes tariffs of 15 percent on imports of coal and LNG as well as 10 percent tariffs on crude oil.

China’s natural gas imports rose by 9.9 percent to 131.69 million tonnes in 2024, the customs data previously showed, while LNG imports increased by 7.7 percent to 76.65 million tonnes last year, with China remaining the world’s largest LNG importer.

Japan is the world’s second-largest importer of LNG, and it imported 6.64 million tonnes of LNG in January. This is 0.58 million tonnes more than China.

Official data for Japan’s LNG imports in February is not available yet.