Shanghai Securities News reported MOFCOM planned to introduce new controlling measures from Sunday on to regulate imports of natural gas in order to protect major gas importers from intense domestic price competition.

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In an exclusive interview with China Daily, the trade watchdog denied putting any restrictions on gas importing.

According to MOFCOM, gas imports to China will increase gradually on an annual basis. MOFCOM will work with other ministries to trim import costs, stabilize import volume and better meet domestic demand, the ministry said.

LNG imports more than doubled to 301,960 tons in April from 119,241 tons in March, according to China's customs data in May. In the first four months, purchases increased to 722,800 tons from 687,533 tons for the whole year of 2006, Bloomberg reported.

China's natural gas output jumped 17 percent year-on-year in April to 5.35 billion cubic meters, according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics.