In an aerial view, a container ship is seen docked at the Port of Oakland on April 18, 2025 in Oakland, California. (Photo by AFP)
China has suspended all imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States since early February, amid an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.
According to shipping data cited by British daily business newspaper the Financial Times, the last recorded LNG shipment from the US was a tanker from the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, which arrived in the southern Chinese province of Fujian on 6 February.
The current purchase freeze came after Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on February 2. In response, China imposed 15% tariffs on US LNG imports and a lower tariff on crude oil imports.
Analysts have warned that the stoppage could impact the viability of large LNG infrastructure projects in the US, particularly those relying on Chinese investment and long-term contracts.
Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a gas specialist at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told FT that “There will be long-term consequences,” adding that “I do not think Chinese LNG importers will ever contract any new US LNG.”
The new tariffs have forced major Chinese LNG buyers to stop imports from the United States and resell the cargoes they have already bought or contracted, as tit-for-tat tariffs are raising the costs of imports.
Bloomberg, citing trading sources, reported that major Chinese LNG buyers with long-term supply contracts with US producers have started reselling the cargoes they have already bought or contracted to Europe following the Chinese tariffs on US goods, including energy products.
According to the latest estimates from BloombergNEF, Chinese LNG imports are expected to drop this year, and Beijing is set to see the first annual decline in LNG imports since 2022.
The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new tariffs on both allies and rivals, but its toughest measures have targeted China, hitting many Chinese imports with 145% duties. Beijing has countered with its own 125% tariffs on American goods, escalating the trade conflict.
Trump first introduced tariffs targeting Chinese imports, citing Beijing’s purported involvement in the fentanyl trade. The administration has since dramatically increased these duties, now reaching 145% on numerous Chinese goods over trade practices that Washington deems unfair.
China has also expressed its determination to “fight until the end” if the United States continues to intensify the trade conflict, calling on the European Union to join Beijing in opposing the United States’ “bullying” practices.
On April 4, Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on US imports, taking effect from April 10, signaling a sharp escalation of a major trade war that could lead to a global recession.
China is the world's largest buyer of liquefied natural gas. The US is the top global LNG shipper but was the fourth supplier to China in 2024, following Australia, Qatar and Russia.
