Today it is committed to self-sufficiency as a strategic pillar
We are witnessing in real time how China is becoming an increasingly decisive player in a wide variety of sectors. Some of these changes are very visible from the outside, such as its leadership in the production of electric cars. Others, however, understand themselves better by looking inward. In a new video from Xataka’s YouTube channel We analyze one of those less obvious but strategically key turns: how the Asian giant has gone from being the largest importer of liquefied natural gas on the planet to commit decisively to self-sufficiency. The piece that we bring you today is added to other content that we publish regularly, such as our podcast ‘Science and Apart’, ‘Domotize or die trying’ or different videos focused on China. Among them, the one that addressed the transformation of the country into the first “electrostate” in history. On this occasion, it is Ana Boria who delves into the role of liquefied natural gas, with a detailed and well-contextualized approach that helps understand why this movement goes far beyond the energy level. From the world’s largest importer to the search for self-sufficiency It is no secret that energy is a critical issue in any country, but it takes on an especially sensitive dimension in Europe. Therefore, before getting into the matter, our colleague compares the situation of the Asian country with that of the Old Continent. “The European strategy is based on prevention“Not to produce more gas, but to accumulate supply and diversify suppliers to avoid cuts,” he explains, and from there he offers several keys to understand the profound differences between both models. In the Chinese case, remember that “relatively recently, the Chinese model involved importing LNG from many regions of the world: Australia, Qatar, the United States or Russia, and complementing it with gas via gas pipeline, especially from Central Asia and Siberia.” That approach began to change due to a combination of factors, including the implementation of the plan Made in China 2025made official in 2015 with the objective of turning the country into a global technological power and reducing strategic dependencies. For some time now, China has been seeking to leave behind its role as a major LNG importer to become a self-sufficient player, and the data points in that direction. “Between January and June 2025, China produced 130.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 5.8% more than in the same period of the previous year”says our colleague, a figure that illustrates the magnitude of the change that is taking place. Achieving self-sufficiency in a resource as critical as liquefied natural gas is not just an industrial issue. It is also a first-order strategic lever, with economic, geopolitical and energy security implications. “China has invested in new deep drilling techniquesin extraction methods for unconventional gas and in adapting existing technologies to its own geology, which is more complex than that of other large producers,” explains Ana. From there, she outlines the pillars that have allowed the country to advance towards this objective, the advantages it has and the challenges it still must overcome, always relying on figures and context. We invite you to see the full video on our YouTube channel and share your opinion both there and in this article. Images | Xataka In Xataka | China dominates the world of renewable energy, but it has an Achilles heel: it depends on the West more than it admits
