China's natural gas imports, including pipeline gas and LNG, decreased by 7.9 percent last month compared to September 2024, according to customs data.
The data from the General Administration of Customs shows that natural gas imports reached 11.85 million tonnes in August.
This compares to 11.99 million tonnes in September 2024 and 11.85 million tonnes in August 2025.
China’s gas imports reached 92.85 million tonnes in January-September, down 6.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
The country paid approximately $42 billion for these imports, down 13.6 percent year-on-year.
The customs data previously showed that China’s natural gas imports rose by 9.9 percent to 131.69 million tonnes in 2024, while LNG imports increased by 7.7 percent to 76.65 million tonnes last year.
Official data for only LNG imports in September this year has not yet been released.
During January-August this year, China imported 41.77 million tonnes of LNG, a decrease of 16.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
It is worth mentioning here that Japan overtook China in the first eight months of this year as the world’s biggest LNG importer. (October 13, 2025, Source: https://lngprime.com/asia/chinas-gas-imports-drop-in-september/166155/)
CHINA - Natural Gas - SUPPLIES - IMPORTS - EXPORTS