China's liquefied natural gas imports could hit record levels in 2024, a PetroChina official forecast on Wednesday. China is the world's largest LNG buyer, while PetroChina is the largest natural gas importer in China. Zhang Yaoyu, global head of LNG and new energies for PetroChina International, said at an industry conference in Bangkok that his company is seen shipping between 78-80 million metric tons of LNG this year, with the industrial and commercial sectors driving demand.