In 2022, due to the EU's initiative to boycott Russia's energy, there was a large-scale natural gas shortage in Europe. However, as Europe frantically scoured goods and sought new buyers in the international market, the situation finally improved. a little. However, in the near future, the natural gas shortage in Europe has come back, so some European countries can only choose to come to China and wait in line for goods.

China sold more than 5.5 million tonnes of LNG in 2022, accounting for around 6% of global LNG spot. Europe, which is currently facing a natural gas shortage, is queuing up for China's natural gas at higher prices.

Not only that, it is estimated that by 2027, 15% of the world's natural gas supply contracts may involve Chinese companies. In addition, China is accelerating the construction of natural gas processing plants, which can improve the efficiency of selling natural gas. Whether it is energy import or consumption, China ranks first in the world. Some time ago, China won a super order from Qatar, obtaining a huge supply of 4 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year for a total of 27 years. This is also regarded by the outside world as the order with the longest time span in the history of natural gas trading. Correspondingly, the amount given by the Chinese side on this list is definitely an astronomical figure.

China's natural gas exports

Obviously, China is now speeding up the process of purchasing natural gas, so does this mean that China will stop selling natural gas? But in fact, it's not. China not only sells natural gas, but also sells it at a high price. After Europe lost Russia, its natural gas supplier, in 2022, it failed to reach new supply agreements with several major energy producing countries in the Middle East, so it can only go to the international market to buy large quantities of spot goods first. And China is precisely a country that holds a lot of natural gas stocks, so Europe bought a lot of liquefied natural gas from China at a high price. To put it simply, China has too much natural gas and can't use it up. Since Europe has come to buy it at a high price, why not sell it? Therefore, since last year, we have seen news from time to time that Europe purchases liquefied natural gas from China. Moreover, this transaction is reasonable, legal, and compliant. Since there is a shortage of energy in the international market, it is normal for China to sell it more expensively. Europe, which is in urgent need of natural gas, is also willing to pay more.

However, this situation aroused strong dissatisfaction from some Western politicians at the time. They claimed that China was reselling Russian natural gas to Europe, not only helping Russia evade Western sanctions, but also taking the opportunity to make a fortune as a middleman. But we still say that China's natural gas transactions are carried out completely in accordance with the rules of the international market. Even if China sells natural gas produced in Russia, it has already been paid for, and it is a Chinese product. China also does not buy or sell by force, and if you don’t want to buy something, you don’t have to buy it.

And as Europe gradually found new natural gas sellers, their energy situation eased for a while. But recently, Europe has begun to worry about energy issues again. A big reason is that China has gradually stopped selling them. On the one hand, China's basic national conditions have not changed, and ensuring energy security has always been our goal. Since we made almost the same profit before, we should stop appropriately. After all, the energy supply in the world is still tight, and the willingness of several energy exporting countries to increase production is very small.

On the other hand, with the full liberalization of our country, the entire country is resuming work and production at full capacity, striving to make up for the losses caused by the epidemic in previous years as much as possible. Therefore, China's energy consumption will experience a substantial increase in a short period of time, and may remain high for a long period of time thereafter. It is against this background that we signed the super big deal with Qatar. After all, energy is a necessity, no matter how much you have in your hand, you can never have too much. Therefore, China's energy exports may decline to a certain extent in the future.

But this situation is obviously the last thing Europe wants to see, because there are really not many places where they can buy natural gas stably. First of all, Qatar's big deal has just been snatched by China. In the short term, several energy-producing countries in the Middle East are happy to see energy prices being raised. After all, everyone is willing to do things that sell less and earn more. In addition, it is to become a leek for natural gas in the United States. A shipment of liquefied natural gas shipped by the United States to Europe can earn 100 million US dollars, which is enough to show the high price the United States asks. The number of retail investors in Africa and Latin America is not large enough.

Looking around, Europe found that China is a more suitable supplier of LNG under the current situation, which is why Europe is now waiting in line for goods in China. But will we ban gas exports outright? I don't think the possibility is too great. Under the condition of ensuring my country's energy security, proper export of natural gas can not only earn foreign exchange, but also drive related industries.

To put it bluntly, energy sources such as natural gas are non-renewable. The reserves of the entire earth are fixed, and Europe's demand for natural gas is also fixed. Even if it does not directly buy energy from Russia, Europe must find new sellers. And China has gradually stabilized its position in the international energy structure. Europe may be able to get rid of Gazprom and Rosneft, but it cannot bypass China in the energy market. Europe is scrambling to buy Chinese liquefied natural gas, and it is estimated that it will continue for a long time.Editor/XingWentao