China’s influence on the global gold market is taking on a deeper structural character, driven by large purchases by the People’s Bank of China, household investment, inflows of institutional capital, and the development of domestic trading infrastructure. Jefferies analysts estimate the central bank’s official reserves have climbed from roughly 1,950 tonnes when purchases resumed in November 2022 to 2,366 tonnes by July 2026. After a record annual addition of 225 tonnes in 2023, the PBOC renewed buying in the second quarter of 2026, adding 33 tonnes, and purchased about 20 tonnes in July, marking the largest monthly haul since October 2023.
However, analysts caution that official totals may understate true state demand. Calculations based on customs data, physical consumption, and exports from refining hubs point to purchases of about 161.6 tonnes of gold since January 2024, versus 130.9 tonnes officially reported by the regulator, marking a gap of roughly 30 tonnes of unaccounted metal.
Beyond official reserves, steady demand is coming from financial institutions and households. Last year, Chinese regulators cleared a move allowing 10 insurers to allocate up to 1% of assets to precious metals, laying the groundwork for a sustained flow of long‑term institutional capital. At the same time, weakness in the domestic property market, falling deposit yields, and equity market volatility have prompted a behavioral shift among households. Despite some cooling in jewellery sales, retail buyers are snapping up physical bars, coins, and ETF shares. Thus, Huaan Yifu Gold is now among China’s largest exchange-traded funds.
Beijing’s strategy also aims to expand its role in the global bullion trade by building an independent clearing and logistics ecosystem. Hong Kong is rolling out a new clearing and settlement framework, authorities are establishing physical‑delivery links with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and a network of offshore vaults is under construction. Plans to expand storage capacity will lift Hong Kong’s depository capacity from about 200 tonnes to more than 2,000 tonnes, underscoring China’s ambition to become the pre‑eminent international hub for storage, clearing, and distribution of gold.