has bought gold for 23 straight months, and is importing more of the metal than ever.
The added about 23 tonnes in September, its biggest monthly purchase in almost three years, according to data. That extended the longest buying streak since at least 2015.
Chinese households and companies are buying too. The country spent a record $158.8 billion importing more than 1,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2026, customs data show — more than the $96.5 billion and 886 tonnes imported in all of 2025.
Western governments froze 's central bank assets after its 2022 invasion of . That showed reserves held in Western institutions can be seized; gold in a country's own vaults cannot. The buying is political, not financial.
, an analyst at Julius Baer Group, said the PBOC's main motive is political — the and a desire to depend less on as a .
China has offloaded Treasurys, which reached an 18-year low of $618 billion in July, according to U.S. Treasury data, as Beijing diversified its .
Menke estimated the central bank bought around 190 tonnes this year by end-August, including .
Gold prices have fallen. They pulled back more than 8% in September to about $4,176 an ounce, after hitting a record above $5,500 in January.
The of holding gold is much lower in China than in Western markets. China's one-year government bond yield fell to around 1.2%,
High U.S. yields normally keep a lid on demand for a like gold. Chinese buying is what has kept the price from falling further.
"Chinese buying has become an important source of for gold prices," said , commodities strategist at . Central banks buy for the long term and are far less sensitive to price than retail investors, she added.
China held 2,387 tonnes as of August, according to the —
, head of gold strategy at State Street Investment Management, forecasts gold to rise to $4,750 to $5,500 per troy ounce by the end of the first quarter in 2027.