Latvia and Estonia withdrew from China’s cooperation group with over a dozen Central and Eastern European nations on Thursday, following their Baltic neighbor Lithuania’s exit last year. The move comes amid Western criticism of China over its escalation of military activities near Taiwan and Beijing’s strengthening ties with Russia during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The U.S. has become the world’s biggest LNG exporter last month for the first time ever, as projects ramped up production and demand from Europe increased the volume of exports. In less than a decade, the U.S. has become a top exporter from being a net importer, thanks to the shale gas revolution and billions of dollars of investments in liquefaction facilities. 

The United States is consulting with close allies about the possibility of new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its Ukraine invasion. The talks, which are still at their preliminary stages, are intended to gather support from several countries, particularly those in the G7 group of developed economies, to coordinate support for any possible sanctions. It has not yet been revealed what specific sanctions Washington would propose. The U.S. and allies have said in recent weeks that Beijing was considering sending weapons to Russia, which China denies.