China has halted all imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States for more than ten weeks
According to the Financial Times, shipping data revealed that no LNG shipments have taken place between the two nations since a 69,000-tonne tanker from Corpus Christi, Texas, arrived in China’s Fujian province on 6 February.
A second vessel destined for China was redirected to Bangladesh after it failed to arrive before Beijing imposed a 15 per cent tariff on US LNG on 10 February.
The tariff has now been raised to 49 per cent, effectively pricing US gas out of the Chinese market.
The current freeze on US LNG mirrors a similar halt during United States President Donald Trump’s first term, which lasted over a year.
The renewed blockade could have lasting effects, particularly as it pushes China to deepen its energy ties with Russia and casts uncertainty over the future of major LNG infrastructure developments in the US and Mexico.
“There will be long-term consequences,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a gas specialist at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy.
“I do not think Chinese LNG importers will ever contract any new US LNG.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China significantly reduced its LNG imports from the US.
Chinese firms opted instead to resell US LNG cargoes to Europe, capitalising on higher prices there. In 2024, only six per cent of China’s LNG came from the US, down from 11 per cent in 2021.
Despite the slowdown, Chinese energy giants such as PetroChina and Sinopec remain bound by 13 long-term contracts with US LNG suppliers, some extending as far as 2049.
These agreements were instrumental in launching massive LNG projects in the US, though developers are now seeking to revise terms due to inflation and added costs from US tariffs.
Gillian Boccara, an analyst at Kpler, noted a bleak short-term outlook for renewed LNG trade between the countries.
“The last time this happened, there was a complete hiatus until the Chinese authorities granted waivers to companies, but that was at a time when gas demand was booming,” she said.
“Now we are looking at lower economic growth, and we think the Chinese can withstand the loss of these cargoes for quite a long time.”
As US LNG becomes increasingly inaccessible, China appears to be turning towards Russia for its future supply.
“I know for sure that there are a lot of buyers. So many buyers are asking the embassy to help establish contacts with Russian suppliers; I think there will definitely be more (imports),” said Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia.
Russia now ranks as China’s third-largest LNG supplier after Australia and Qatar. The two countries are also advancing negotiations on the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would further cement their energy relationship.
“With tariffs rising to the level where they are an effective embargo, we will see a reshuffling of trade flows,” said Richard Bronze at Energy Aspects.
“We also expect Asia demand to fall by 5-10mn tonnes as a whole. That should bring gas prices down a bit in Europe,” he added.
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