BEIJING — China produced 188.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2020, representing a growth of 9.8 percent year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

China has seen its annual natural gas output increase by more than 10 billion cubic meters for four consecutive years, according to the NBS.

Production in natural gas sustained a rapid growth in December, surging 13.7 percent to reach 18.7 billion cubic meters. The growth rate was 1.9 percentage points faster than that in November.

China imported 102 million metric tons of natural gas in 2020, up 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to the NBS data.