To meet the demands of heating and industry, Chinese imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US surged to record levels last month.

China imported 407,325 tons of LNG from the U.S. in November, up by 57% over October,while the import volume is zero in the same period in the last year. As one of the world's new suppliers of LNG, the US has become Chinese third-largest supplier, only lagging behind Australia and Qatar, whom of a solid position.

"Exports of U.S. are growing rapidly and China is the fastest growing importer," Kerry Anne Shanks, an analyst from a singapore-based WoodMackenzie Ltd. Compay said, "Sino-US LNG trade will continue to increase."

As Chinese President Xi Jinping's curbbing haze movement mainly focused on reducing usage of coal, and turning to use cleaner fuels, China - as the world's largest energy user suffers from the natural gas shortage problem in the winter. According to World Gas Intelligence, an industry publication, the growing demand in China has pushed the LNG spot price to a three-year high by $10.90 per million British thermal units.

Increasing oil and gas supplies to China is one of the Trump government's goals. During a visit to Beijing last month, President Trump unveiled a $250 billion deal between this two countries, among which the energy held a dominant position. That includes the agreement between Cheniere Energy inc. and Petro China, combining with the agreement between Sinopec and Alaska Gasline Development Corp. Neither of the agreements have binding force, and Chinese LNG buyers have yet sign any long-term purchase or investment agreements with U.S. exporters.