Slowing economic growth in China and ongoing trade tensions with the US have dampened the Asian giant's demand for gas and LNG, at least in the short term, but experts are still bullish on China's long-term gas demand outlook. China's LNG imports have fallen for six consecutive months since last November as volumes of piped gas have edged up this year. Chinese executives stress that China needs affordable and flexible LNG supplies if the liquefied fuel is to assume a bigger role in the country’s highly diversified energy system, which is rapidly electrifying thanks to cheap and growing renewable capacity. Weaker recent gas demand has masked the impacts of China's retaliatory 25% tariffs on US LNG, which have halted flows from the world's largest exporter of the fuel to its largest importer. Chinese imports of LNG fell by 22% in the four months to April from a year ago to 20.1 million tons due to weaker demand and elevated prices. Shipping analytics firm Kpler expects May to show another 21% year-on-year drop in Chinese LNG imports. Meanwhile, piped gas imports and domestic gas production rose from January-April by 11% and 5%, respectively. Wang Zhen, president of state China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s (CNOOC) research arm, told delegates at the World Gas Conference in Beijing last week that price and stability of supplies are the key factors driving China's LNG demand. "If LNG prices are not so high and volatility is not so high, LNG demand will increase, especially in the relatively rich areas in the east and south parts of China," he said. But he noted that cheaper solar and wind capacity is growing fast in China, potentially displacing growth opportunities for LNG. LNG accounted for around 25% of China’s total gas supplies in 2024; about 17% of its gas was piped in, and the other 58% was produced domestically. China aims to ramp up domestic gas production this year while also increasing Russian pipeline imports by 8 billion cubic meters. China consumed 426 Bcm in 2024, up 8% year on year, according to China's National Development and Reform Commission. First-quarter 2025 gas demand fell by 2.2% to less than 106 Bcm.