The U.S. has increased its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales to China this year, but the surge may not last if the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump clashes with Beijing over trade.
China increased its U.S. gas imports by 63% in the first 10 months of 2024 from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data released Wednesday. That makes the U.S. the fifth-largest supplier to Beijing, behind Australia, Qatar, Russia and Malaysia.
The 3.9 million tons shipped so far this year account for just 6% of China’s total imports, and Chinese buyers have signed up to buy 14 million tons of U.S. LNG from 2026, according to BloombergNEF.
