China’s natural gas imports, including LNG and pipeline supplies, edged lower in July from the same month of 2025, according to the General Administration of Customs of China.
The decline extended a weaker trend for the year to date, with natural gas imports down 3% by volume in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
The dollar value of those imports fell 1.6%.
The July result followed a recovery in June, when China imported 10.93m tonnes of natural gas, up 3.7% year on year and the highest monthly volume in five months.
Imports in the first half of 2026 totalled 57.45m tonnes, a decline of 3.4% from a year earlier.
China’s LNG purchases also strengthened in June. Imports reached 5.68m tonnes, up 8.3% from June 2025 and 16.8% from May.
The General Administration of Customs is China’s national customs authority and publishes preliminary monthly merchandise import and export statistics before more detailed figures are released.