Keywords:
• liquefied natural gas import/
• trade potential/
• trade gravity model

Abstract:The international energy agency believes that liquefied natural gas(LNG)promotes the integration of the world's natural gas trade market, and also provides a source of diversification of natural gas imports for the Asia Pacific region and the European Union countries. Since China imported LNG in 2005, the proportion of natural gas consumption in China is increasing. In order to analyze flow of LNG imports and trade potential of China, this paper selected 11 countries of Chinese imports of LNG as the research object, and set the variables from economies of scale, distance, technology, type of contract, pricing modes, and policy, using China's total imports of LNG of 2006-2014 and panel data related to China's LNG import influencing factors to establish trade gravity model. It studied the factors which influenced China's LNG imports, then classified trading partners according to the type of signed contract and measured the trade potential. Research results show that:(1)Signing a long-term contract could promote China's LNG imports, but the international oil prices did not pass the significant test, while the U.S. Henry center natural gas spot prices rise would significantly reduce the in imports.(2)China's LNG imports and China's per capita GDP were positively correlated, negatively correlated with the per capita GDP of the trading partner countries, and with no significant statistical relationship with geographical distance.(3)"One Belt and One Road" strategy had a positive effect on the flow of China's LNG imports, while free trade agreements, R&D funds accounted for the proportion of GDP had a negative effect.(4)China's LNG trade adopted more short-term contract forms and compared with trade countries with long-term contracts, there was more space for development with short-term contract trading nations.