Tashkent. 23 July. UzTAG - As the consumption of natural gas in China increases, the country intends to become the largest importer by 2019, Silkroadnews reports with reference to People’s Daily.

It is expected that consumption of natural gas will grow, with imports reaching 171 bln m³ in 2023.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumption is growing most rapidly in China and India, with China taking second place in the world of LNG, surpassing Korea in terms of LNG consumption.

“China is determined to make natural gas its main source of energy. It is necessary to accelerate the restructuring of the energy structure in order to create a clean and low-carbon energy system. China plans to transfer 10% of the total energy consumption to gas by 2020”, said Zhang Yuqing, the former deputy director of the National Energy Administration.

According to him, when it comes to increasing the use of natural gas, China’s main problems are the stability of gas sources and pricing, as well as the competitiveness of alternative fuels