China’s critical gas position

China will play a huge role in driving gas demand, with its Qatar partnership crucial to this growth amid global structural challenges

Caution and confidence contrasted the gas outlooks from one of China’s leading LNG importers and a top supplier to the country at the World Gas Conference in Beijing in May. Sinopec Chairman Ma Yongsheng tipped China to play an outsize role in driving global gas demand growth but warned of geopolitical tensions and infrastructural challenges, while QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi did not hold back in beating the drum for gas as the energy “backbone” of the global economy. “Gas, being the cleanest fossil fuel, is increasingly integrated with renewable energy and playing an irreplaceable role in the global energy transition,” Ma said in a keynote speech. He reiterated an existing Sinopec