Shanghai mayor Han Zheng said in a meeting with WA Premier Geoff Gallop, who is touring the country, the city was going through a bid restructure and needed to address its energy mix.

While there is a core in the Chinese administration that believes China is self sufficient for energy, there are others who believe that gas imports are the only way to combat the electricity shortages that fortuitously struck the Chinese city at the same time the WA Premier was selling his state's solution to Shanghai's problems.

"We have got to make the argument to the Chinese that it is in their interests to go to LNG," Dr Gallop said, in comments published by the West Australian newspaper.

"There is going to be room for more demand and was have to be in there to make sure we are going to get it."

However it will not be a shoe in for Australian LNG suppliers, with Han Zheng fresh from meetings with Malaysian LNG representatives just the day before.