US LNG cargo docks in China for first time in a year

Bloomberg

Thursday 16 July 2026 14:25 | 1 minute read

A liquefied natural gas tanker carrying a US cargo has arrived at a Chinese port, potentially marking the first US shipment received by China since Beijing imposed tariffs over a year ago.

The tanker "Al Fateh," which was loaded at Venture Global's Plaquemines facility in Louisiana in June, docked at the Yangpu port in southern China on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The port has reloaded several cargoes over the past year, indicating the shipment may be re-exported.

If the cargo is discharged at the port, it would be the first since tensions between the two countries escalated in February 2025.

China's imports of US LNG fell after that, as trade between the world's largest seller and buyer of seaborne gas deteriorated. Beijing had imposed tariffs on US LNG in response to tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump on Chinese goods.

Mon, 13 2026

LNG shipments had previously been affected by trade disputes between the two countries, with China refraining from buying any shipments from the US for about 400 days during Trump's first presidential term.

This recent thaw highlights the changes caused by the war in the Middle East on LNG flows, after the conflict largely disrupted shipments from major Gulf exporters and pushed Asian countries to seek cargoes from other regions.