Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan from Dec. 12 through Dec. 14, with his trip culminating in the inauguration of the 4,350-mile Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline, which will ship 13 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2010 (and up to 30 bcm 2012-2013) from Turkmenistan, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, to China. Once in China, the Turkmen natural gas will travel to booming urban centers to fuel China’s rapid economic growth and surging demand. The pipeline helps China meet two of its national energy strategy goals: providing foreign natural gas supplies as China’s consumption increases; and acquiring natural gas imports through multiple land routes so as not to depend wholly on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports through maritime routes that are potentially vulnerable to outside interference. Even so, China is unlikely to see natural gas provide even 10 percent of the country’s energy by 2020.