China has suspended imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States for over 10 weeks.
Shipping data revealed that China has stopped importing liquefied natural gas from the United States for over ten weeks, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The data showed that the last shipment arrived in China on February 6th, when a carrier carrying 69,000 tons of LNG from Corpus Christi, Texas, docked at the port of Fuzhou, China. Since then, no new shipments have been recorded between the two countries.
Another ship destined for China was redirected to Bangladesh after failing to arrive before Beijing imposed a 15% customs duty on U.S. gas imports on February 10th. This tariff was later raised to 49%, making U.S. LNG uncompetitive in the Chinese market.
This is not the first time China has halted U.S. gas imports, as a similar halt occurred during the early days of former President Donald Trump's administration, lasting over a year.
This suspension may have long-term implications, especially as China seeks to enhance its energy cooperation with Russia, potentially affecting the future of LNG infrastructure projects in the United States and Mexico.
China has significantly reduced its imports of U.S. gas since the Russo-Ukrainian war, with Chinese companies preferring to re-export American shipments to Europe to take advantage of higher prices there.
Statistics show that China's imports of U.S. LNG in 2024 accounted for only 6% of its total imports, compared to 11% in 2021, reflecting a notable decline in trade between the two countries in this sector.
