OUR energy policy her China indirectly supports Europe. Economic recovery after pandemic from corona virus increase her appetite for liquefied natural gaswhich Europeans crave because they refused supplies from Moscow after Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, Beijing’s campaign to increase pipeline imports, use more coal and increase domestic natural gas production should limit growth in Chinese demand for the liquid fuel until 2023. This could ease the painful impact on gas-hungry Europe.

In 2021, the People’s Republic of China was the world’s largest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

But its purchases fell 20% to 64 million tons, or 88 billion cubic meters (bcm) in gasified form next year, as lockdowns curtailed economic activity.

Meanwhile, rising gas prices in Europe have prompted Chinese traders to divert US cargo backed by cheaper long-term contracts to the war-torn continent for profit, a trend that could continue.

The European Union imported a record amount of fuel, reaching 131 billion cubic meters in 2022, up 60% from 2021, according to Kpler.

China’s economic outlook has improved since Beijing abruptly ended its zero-tolerance policy on COVID in December.

But falling property prices and weakening exports suggest the recovery will be less impressive than when the Asian nation first eased pandemic restrictions in 2021.

The country’s leading industry body, the China Electricity Council, estimates that aggregate energy consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, will grow by just 6% in 2023 from 10.3% in 2021.

That’s why Chinese liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are forecast to rise by just 7% this year to 94 billion cubic meters, according to data provider OilChem China, or 14% below the 2021 peak.

There are more reasons to believe that the discovery of China will not interfere with the search for natural gas in the Old Continent. Faced with electricity shortages in 2021, Beijing has largely shifted to coal, which accounts for about 60% of total energy consumption.

Last year, production in China rose by 9% to 4.5 billion tons and is expected to continue growing in 2023.

The government also wants to reduce reliance on volatile and more expensive LNG markets by producing more natural gas inside the walls and bringing more natural gas through pipelines, especially from neighboring Russia.

Flows in China through the 3,000-kilometer Power of Siberia network should increase to 22 billion cubic meters this year from 15 billion in 2022, S&P Global Commodity estimates.