Non-Monetary Use 1447t Gold Imports
Surpassing Previous Record of 1427t in 2018
As Chinese people rushed to stockpile gold amid a real estate slump and stock market crash, the scale of gold imports last year reached an all-time high.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 26th, citing Chinese customs data, that China imported 1,447 tons of gold for non-monetary purposes, including jewelry, last year. This surpasses the previous record of 1,427 tons in 2018.
By weight, this is seven times more than the import volume in 2020, and the total import value of $90 billion (approximately 120.4 trillion KRW) is nearly nine times greater.
According to the China Gold Association, gold sales within China also increased to 1,090 tons last year compared to the previous year. Sales of gold jewelry rose by 7.97%, while gold bars and coins sales increased by 15.7%.
Feng Feng, chairman of the Guangdong think tank 'Guangdong System Reform Research Association,' told SCMP, "Purchasing gold amid the real estate and stock market downturns, geopolitical instability, and yuan depreciation is currently the best way for Chinese residents to protect their assets."
However, he believes that as local Chinese governments introduce market-friendly policies and the yuan shows signs of stabilization, the 'gold rush' among Chinese people may calm down this year.
Most Chinese people were unable to purchase US dollars or dollar-denominated financial products as a means to hedge against the yuan's depreciation, which further fueled the enthusiasm for buying gold.
Gary Ng, chief Asia-Pacific economist at investment bank Natixis, analyzed, "Besides the pent-up demand following the reopening of economic activities, yuan depreciation and the lack of investable assets have driven Chinese consumers' gold demand in recent years."
Due to this gold rush, gold prices in China soared to their highest level in 13 years last year, and the price gap with international gold prices widened to the largest in 10 years.
On that day, the spot price of gold in China was about 477 yuan (approximately 88,700 KRW) per gram, showing a 3.371% difference from the international gold price, SCMP reported.
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