The Ministry of Finance said Monday that China will grant value-added tax rebates on natural gas imports when imported prices are higher than government-set domestic prices.

The rebates will apply to government-approved projects, including the Central Asia-China natural gas pipeline, liquified natural gas projects in Shanghai and the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian as well as other projects to be approved, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The policy will cover the period from January of this year to the end of 2020.

The rebates will also apply to gas imports via the Central Asia-China natural gas pipeline before the end of last year, it said.

Gas imports accounted for nearly 12 percent of the country's consumption in the first half of this year, according to statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner.

Natural gas consumption accounts for about 4 percent of China's primary energy consumption. The percentage is about one sixth of the world's average. While natural gas consumption per capita is one eighth of the world's average of 508 cubic meters per year.