JAKARTA – China has suspended all imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States for over ten weeks, as new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have rendered American gas unviable in the Chinese market.

According to data from the Financial Times, the last LNG shipment from the US was a 69,000-tonne tanker from Corpus Christi, Texas, which arrived in China’s Fujian province on 6 February.

A second shipment originally destined for China was diverted to Bangladesh after failing to dock before a 15% tariff came into effect on February 10.

That tariff was subsequently raised by the US to 49%, effectively making American LNG prices uncompetitive in China.

“There will be long-term consequences,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, as quoted by The Times of India (18/4).

“I don’t think Chinese LNG importers will ever want to sign a new US LNG contract,” she added.

The current halt in LNG purchases mirrors a similar episode during Donald Trump’s first term, when China froze American LNG imports for over a year.

Analysts warn that this renewed suspension could jeopardise major LNG infrastructure projects in the US and Mexico, particularly those reliant on Chinese investment and long-term contracts.

The trade dispute has increasingly pushed China toward Russian energy sources.

“I know for sure that there are many buyers – so many buyers asking the embassy for help in establishing contact with Russian suppliers,” said Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia.

Russia is now China’s third-largest LNG supplier after Australia and Qatar. Ongoing talks are focused on building the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would further solidify the energy alliance between the two countries. (MT/ZH)