Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has beaten expectations in its drive to help clear the nation's notoriously smoggy skies by burning less coal and oil in favour of cleaner natural gas.

Now that success may be too much, too soon.

A pedestrian wearing a face mask walks past China Central Television headquarters building, which is shrouded in haze. Credit:Bloomberg

Gas consumption has risen 15 per cent in the first half of the year, including a 27 per cent jump in June, as industrial customers shift towards the fuel and as distributors add more residential users. That surge during the traditionally low-demand part of the year raises the possibility the country may find itself short of gas when the northern winter hits, according analysts at Jefferies Group and SCI International.

"China could be setting itself up for a nasty winter gas shortage," Laban Yu, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Jefferies, said in a research note last week. "We believe gas prices will have to increase, especially in winter months, to balance supply and China's regulation-induced demand surge."