China has stopped import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States after the introduction of 15% of the gas supply tariff on February 10. This decision has become part of the trade war between Beijing and Washington, which has been going on for several years. Beijing, turning away from American gas, switched to Russian supplies that have become more accessible by reducing gas prices after the boycott of Russian fuel.
According to China's Customs Service, Imports of LNG from the United States have fallen to a minimum level from November to January. During this period, only two cargo vessels with US gas were heading to China, indicating a sharp decrease in supply.
The reasons for this step are to put Beijing new tariffs for American fossil fuels in response to the first round of 10% of tariffs for Chinese goods introduced by US President Donald Trump. The boycott of Russia by Europe, after its full -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, also contributed to the displacement of Chinese supplies towards Russia. Russian gas has become much cheaper because it is no longer purchased by Europeans, and European companies are forced to pay higher gas prices from other countries, including the United States.
Thus, Chinese companies, having the opportunity to buy gas at a low price from Russia, began to gradually abandon US supplies. While the supply of LNG from the United States to China increased sharply after the trading agreement between the countries in January 2020, their volumes decreased again in 2022 due to high gas prices and supplying demand to Europe.
Russia, for its part, continues to increase the supply of liquefied gas to China, which creates new conditions for energy relations between the two countries.
