China Cuts Back on Oil and Gas Imports as Prices Surge

China’s natural gas imports dropped sharply in March amid the tanker traffic paralysis in the Middle East. Oil imports also fell on an annual basis, but were up in February. Natural gas imports were down by 11% last month, Bloomberg reported, citing official customs data. At 8.183 million tons, the March total brought China’s year-to-date gas imports 4% lower than they were in 2025. Imports of liquefied natural gas, according to preliminary data, may have plummeted by 22% on the year in March to 3.74 million tons. In crude oil, China…