Milan

CHINA'S energy giants - after years spent scrambling to secure supplies for the world's third-biggest gas market - are being forced to sell a glut of the fuel to buyers in other countries as soaring demand grinds to a halt.

Consumption has been hit by a cooling economy, but also state policies that ensure Chinese pay among the world's highest gas prices, threatening Beijing's targets of curbing pollution and emissions by using more of the clean-burning fuel.