China's 2017 LNG imports to top South Korea's for first time; becomes key driver of spot LNG prices. China will become the world's second-biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year as it overtakes South Korea, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed. This is a huge boost to Asia's emerging spot market as Chinese buyers rely much more on short-term purchases to meet their needs than their counterparts in Japan and South Korea. Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that China's imports of LNG will have risen by more than 50 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year to around 38 million tonnes. Comparatively, import-dependent Japan and South Korea will have taken around 83.5 million tonnes and just over 37 million tonnes by the end of the year, respectively.