Why China is importing a record amount of gold
HANGZHOU, CHINA – OCTOBER 18: Gold bars are on display at a gold jewelry store on October 18, 2024 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.
Ni Lifang | Visual China Group | Getty Images
China’s central bank has bought gold for 23 straight months, and the country is importing more of the precious metal than ever.
That buying spree reflects Beijing’s push to cut its dependence on the dollar, and Chinese households’ lack of safe alternatives, with analysts expecting sustained demand for the bullion in a struggling economy.
The People’s Bank of China added about 23 tonnes in September, its biggest monthly purchase in almost three years, according to State Administration of Foreign Exchange data, extending the longest purchasing streak since at least 2015.
Chinese households and companies are turning to gold as a safe haven. The country spent a record $158.8 billion, importing more than 1,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2026, customs data show. That exceeds the $96.5 billion and 886 tonnes imported in all of 2025.
Consumer gold imports in China hit a record in the first eight months of this year, according to Aakash Doshi, head of gold strategy at State Street Investment Management. The surging premiums in China’s onshore prices indicate “stronger winter seasonal demand,” Doshi said.
The accumulation of the metal comes as gold prices have fallen. They pulled back more than 8% in September to about $4,176 an ounce, after in January hitting a record above $5,500.
Doshi forecasts gold prices to rise to $4,750 to $5,500 per troy ounce by the end of the first quarter in 2027, buoyed by robust demand.
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Why China is buying
The PBOC’s main motive is political, according to Carsten Menke, an analyst at Julius Baer Group, pointing to “the weaponization of the U.S. dollar and the related desire to be less dependent on U.S. Treasuries as a reserve asset.”
Western governments froze Russia’s central bank assets after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, underscoring how foreign-held reserves can be restricted at times of geopolitical friction, while gold in a country’s own vaults remains insulated.
China has offloaded holdings of Treasurys, which reached an 18-year low of $618 billion in July, according to U.S. Treasury data, as Beijing continued to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves.
Chinese demand is also being fueled by gold’s reputation as a safe haven. Consumers in the country, nervous about the shaky economy, are loading up on gold jewelry, bars and coins.
Domestic investors have few alternatives with the real estate market, once the main store of household wealth, locked in a multiyear slump. The benchmark CSI 300 index is down around 8% this year, versus the S&P 500’s 13% gain. Returns from bank deposits and bonds have declined amid tepid borrowing demand. China’s one-year government bond yield fell to around 1.2%, against about 4.46% in the U.S.
“The opportunity cost of holding gold is also much lower in…