China will make efforts to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cope with supply shortages, said the head of China's National Energy Administration (NEA) on Sunday.

Zhang Guobao, also vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, made the statement at a press conference in Beijing.

China would speed up the building of LNG terminals, natural gas pipelines, and storage facilities in the country's coastal areas, Zhang said.

China imported 3.5 million tonnes of LNG in 2009, equal to 5 billion square meters of natural gas, accounting for almost 6 percent of China's total gas consumption in the year, according to Zhang.

At the national work conference in December, Zhang said China would build more LNG terminals in Shandong Province and Zhuhai of Guangdong Province, and boost domestic production by further exploiting offshore reserves and major gas fields in central, western China.

Zhang said China had been diversifying its gas import sources which included Malaysia, Qatar, Papua New Guinea in addition to Australia and Indonesia. He also called on domestic enterprises to sign more long-term LNG import agreements.