The partnership will connect Zhonggong’s growing natural gas infrastructure worth $640 million (£474 million) with Abaxx Exchange’s trading platform, international supplier network and data services, the exchange said.

Nancy Seah, chief executive officer of Abaxx Exchange, said: “China’s LNG demand growth is reshaping global trade flows, and Zhonggong’s investments in Shandong and Yunnan highlight the importance of developing reliable new demand centres.

“Abaxx Exchange has built the regulated marketplace and physically-backed forward curve needed to connect partners like Zhonggong with international supply, supporting better price discovery and stronger market access for LNG participants.”

Abaxx said the partners will support reliable LNG procurement, improve access to transparent pricing and risk management tools, and strengthen logistics connectivity between international suppliers and China’s demand centres.

Zhang Huanran, chief executive officer of Zhonggong, said: “As we expand our LNG infrastructure in Shandong and Yunnan, working with Abaxx Exchange connects us to a regulated global marketplace with the only physically-backed LNG forward curve trading today.

“Through this cooperation, we are focused on securing stable, high-quality LNG supply to support the growth of our operations and to advance more efficient, lower-carbon energy solutions.”

Abaxx announced on Tuesday a partnership with Chinese energy trading platform Qingdao International Energy Exchange to strengthen Asia’s physical LNG market.