BEIJING, April 21. /TASS/. LNG supplies from Russia to China increased by 67.7% in January-March 2023 in annual terms to 1.62 mln tons, the General Administration of Customs of China reported on Friday.

In value terms China’s LNG imports from Russia soared by 80.8% in the reporting period to over $1.32 bln. In physical terms Russia was the fourth-largest LNG supplier to the People’s Republic of China after Australia (5.34 mln tons worth $3.7 bln), Qatar (4.66 mln tons worth $3.2 bln), and Malaysia (1.88 mln tons worth $1.43 bln). Russia was followed by Indonesia (888,000 tons worth $781.9 mln) and the US (698,000 tons worth $560.9 mln).

In March, Russian LNG deliveries to China edged up by 2% month-on-month to 602,500 tons in physical terms, and fell by 15.5% to $407.1 mln in value terms, according to the service.

In 2022, China imported 6.5 mln tons of LNG from Russia, up by around 44% compared with 2021, whereas in value terms supplies climbed 2.4-fold to $6.74 bln, according to the Chinese customs.