BEIJING -- China saw steady growth in its natural gas output during the first four months of the year, official data shows.

The country's natural gas output rose 11.6 percent year on year to 70.2 billion cubic meters during the period, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure rose 23.1 percent compared to the 2019 level, putting average January-April growth at 10.9 percent for 2020 and 2021.

In April alone, China's natural gas output came in at 16.9 billion cubic meters, up 7 percent year on year, and the average daily production came in at 560 million cubic meters.

The country's natural gas imports in the first four months surged 22.4 percent year on year to 39.46 million tons, according to the NBS.