Through it's central bank, the People's Republic of China holds the world's 6th largest central bank gold holdings, with over 1800 tonnes of gold held in its official reserves of the People's Bank of China.
Now, the People's Bank of China holds 2,330 tons of gold in its reserves, according to official data cited by Bloomberg. The gold stockpiling comes amid the country's bid to erode the dollar's global dominance as well as growing economic and geopolitical uneasiness.
China's central bank added 23 tons of gold to its reserves in June, marking an eighth consecutive increase. The country is stockpiling the safe-haven asset amid economic and geopolitical turmoil. The turn to gold also chips away at the US dollar's dominance, a traditional reserve currency.
China increased its gold reserves for a seventh straight month, signaling ongoing strong demand for the precious metal from the world's central banks. China raised its gold holdings by about 16 tons in May, according to data from the People's Bank of China on Wednesday.
Gold Reserves in China averaged 1140.48 Tonnes from 2000 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 2068.36 Tonnes in the first quarter of 2023 and a record low of 395.01 Tonnes in the second quarter of 2000.
Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes. Geoscience Australia estimates that 60 per cent of Australia's gold reserves are in Western Australia.
The United States holds the largest stockpile of gold reserves in the world by a considerable margin. In fact, the U.S. government has almost as many reserves as the next three largest gold-holding countries combined (Germany, Italy, and France).
Over half of Chinese gold production is state-owned – the China National Gold Group Corporation alone accounts for 20%. And China keeps the gold it mines – the export of domestic mine production is not allowed.
Indian households have the largest private gold holdings in the world, standing at an estimated 24,000 metric tons. That figure surpasses the combined official gold reserves of the United States, Germany, Italy, France, China and Russia.
Australia and Russia hold the largest reserves of gold
Australia and Russia hold a large share of the world's gold mine reserves, accounting for 8,400 metric tons and 6,800 metric tons, respectively.
According to my analysis, the Chinese central bank owned 4,309 tonnes of gold on December 31, 2022, which is more than double than what is officially disclosed. My estimate would make China the second largest gold reserve country after the US.
Overall, Russian gold exports to China soared by 67.3% in physical terms and by 63.3% in monetary terms from 2021. However, Russia's share in Chinese gold purchases remains small. The main supplier of gold to China is Switzerland, with sales in 2021 totaling over US$34 billion.
Besides investors and jewelry consumers, central banks are a major source of gold demand. In fact, in 2022, central banks snapped up gold at the fastest pace since 1967. However, the record gold purchases of 2022 are in stark contrast to the 1990s and early 2000s, when central banks were net sellers of gold.
China's central bank may have secretly bought 300t of gold this year.
As the country with the largest known gold resources in the world, Australia has a significant opportunity to supply the world's growing demand for gold.
Major markets for Australia's gold exports
Some countries have strong demand for jewellery (particularly India and other Asian countries), some have demand for gold for financial purposes (such as the United Kingdom and China), and some countries require gold for use in industrial applications.
Well, it turns out “925 China” is a standard marking on jewelry to denote sterling silver jewelry. If you see “925” or “925 China” stamped on what you thought was your gold jewelry, then the jewelry has 92.5% sterling silver content and is merely gold-plated.
Gold production ranked by major countries 2022
China is the largest gold producer in the world.
Countries such as Switzerland, Australia, and Canada are known for producing high-purity gold, while countries such as China and Russia are the largest producers of gold in the world.
Either way, there is financial uncertainty. Precious metals are the counterbalance to that uncertainty. Russia, China, Brazil, Egypt, India, Turkey, Qatar, and many other countries are stockpiling gold to overthrow the Dollar and ensure sovereignty.
The gold stored in the U.S. was acquired by West Germany during a period of trade surpluses with the U.S. before 1970. The gold was never repatriated to Germany due to fear of invasion by the Soviet Union.
Where is All the Gold? The World Gold Council estimates that miners have historically extracted a total of 201,296 tonnes of gold, leaving another 53,000 tonnes left in identified underground reserves.
China has the most cash and gold reserves of any country in the world: $3.43 trillion worth, according to data from the World Bank and IMF.