Letter from China: Australia’s LNG dominance under threat
Beijing may be planning to break its reliance on its Antipodean supplier
LNG stands out as one of the few commodities left relatively unscathed by the deterioration of China-Australia relations over the past few years. But Beijing is taking steps that could erode Australian dominance of Chinese gas imports in the long term. The tension between Beijing and Canberra has already cost Australia its dominant market share in China for goods including barley, beef, wine and coal—all commodities for which China has easily been able to find alternative sources. Australian LNG has been harder to substitute, given the binding, multibillion-dollar long-term contracts signed between state-owned Chinese buyers and Australian export projects, and also the fuel’s importance to e
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
