China is set to increase its imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year, its ambassador to Russia said on Tuesday.

“I know for sure that there are a lot of buyers. So many buyers are asking the embassy to help establish contacts with Russian suppliers, I think there will definitely be more (imports),” the envoy, Zhang Hanhui, said.

He also told reporters that there had been discussion between the two countries about the proposed Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline project from Russia to China, but the route for it had yet to be defined.

Russia has been seeking agreement with Beijing for years on building the Power of Siberia-2 to carry 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from the Yamal region in northern Russia to China via Mongolia.

So far, however, the parties have not been able to agree on the terms of gas deliveries.

According to TASS news agency, which cited Chinese customs data, Russia’s LNG exports to China rose last year by 3.3% to 8.3 million metric tons.

It said Russia was, after Australia and Qatar, the third-largest supplier of LNG to China, which is the world’s largest buyer. Malaysia and the United States are also major exporters of LNG to China.

Reuters reported last week that Chinese buyers of LNG are re-selling U.S.-sourced cargoes as tit-for-tat tariffs drive up import costs.

China imported no U.S. LNG during March, data from Kpler and LSEG show. The U.S. accounted for about 5% of China’s LNG last year, according to Chinese customs data.

Source: Reuters