By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-26 09:01:04 | Updated at 2026-09-26 09:42:30
1 hour ago
China has been secretly stockpiling billions in gold for decades and experts fear it could be a precursor to an invasion of Taiwan.
Since the millennium, Beijing’s central bank has purchased nearly 2,000 tonnes of gold – a roughly six times growth in reserves equivalent to £209billion in today’s money.
In the last 22 months, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been on an uninterrupted buying streak of the precious metal, accumulating 80 tonnes this year alone – equivalent to £8.37billion.
James Price, a former Treasury adviser and senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, warned: "Gold is the one reserve asset that can't be frozen by a letter from the US Treasury.
"Beijing watched the West lock up around $300billion of Russia's reserves in 2022 and drew the obvious conclusion.
"A country that expects sanctions buys gold, and a country that has such obviously malign intent to the island democracy of Taiwan will be expecting sanctions."
However, a report by Goldman Sachs earlier this week found Beijing could have twice as much gold as it has disclosed - potentially as much as 5,000 tonnes according to some analyses.
Instead of tracking what is reported by China, Goldman tracked movements through London’s export data and discovered a significant gap, suggesting Beijing is building its gold reserves faster than public numbers indicate.
(FILE PHOTO) Since the millennium, Beijing’s central bank has purchased nearly 2,000 tonnes of gold - equivalent to £209billion in today’s money
Former US Treasury official Brad Setser told GB News: "There is a widespread view that the PBOC have bought more gold than shows up on its balance sheet."
Mr Sester, who now works at the Council on Foreign Relations, added that the PBOC has "taken sanctions risk more seriously" in the wake of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and explained how gold is able to maintain its value in times of war, and is "now considered to be the reserve asset that is hardest to sanction".
However, according to Josh Lipsky, Senior Director at the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center, Washington has already ruled out sanctioning China's banks.
In a press call previewing the US-China summit, Mr Lipsky said: "The question we all asked out of that is, would you be willing to sanction Chinese banks? And the question, I think right now, is answered in the affirmative, which is no, we are not willing to sanction Chinese banks at the moment."
According to Josh Lipsky, Washington has already ruled out sanctioning China's banks
Giles Maber, Managing Director and Head of UK at London bullion dealer Sharps Pixley, said despite being far behind US and European reserves, China's decision to buy up gold following Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a "structural reallocation" rather than just trading.
He told GB News: "What China is buying is insurance against counterparty risk. Every other reserve asset they hold is somebody else's liability, and 2022 showed the world exactly what happens to those liabilities when politics turns.
"Gold is the one reserve asset that cannot be frozen, sanctioned or defaulted on, and Beijing worked that out quickly. Look at the timing. The sustained accumulation starts in mid-2022, right after the Russian reserve freeze.
"This is not a trade for them, it is a structural reallocation, and they are still a long way behind the United States and the major European holders as a share of total reserves."
Giving a prediction on where he thinks China's gold buying rate could be by the end of the year, Mr Maber suggested if current rates hold, Beijing could bring in around 240 tonnes.
However, he suggested the one thing that could slow this down is the price of gold.
Since the year 2000, the price of gold has skyrocketed nearly 16-fold - a 1,460 per cent increase.
The precious metal was worth just £213 per ounce 26 years ago, jumping to an all-time high of £4,220 in January this year.
Gold prices have surged dramatically in the last 25 years
GOLD.CO.UK
China's official reserves have a history of multi-year "disappearing acts", where six-year gaps in 2003 to 2009 and 2009 to 2015 were each followed by sudden, one-off jumps recording 450–600 tonnes.
However, instead of gold being filtered into China’s war chest, GB News understands it could be a move by Beijing to slash reliance on the US dollar or be working its way into the hands of private investors.
Mr Sester told The People's Channel: "There is also an argument that low deposit rates in China have made gold more attractive to private Chinese investors, and thus there has been a somewhat unexpected surge in private Chinese demand for gold.
"What is undeniable is that gold imports in the Chinese customs data are running about a percentage point of GDP higher than in 2025, and this is having a material impact on China's reported trade surplus — without this surge, China's massive surplus would be even bigger."
Joe Cavatoni, a Senior Markets Strategist and Head of Public Policy, US for the World Gold Council, explained how gold plays a strategic role in central banks' reserves.
"In a world of higher inflation, rising debt and frequent shocks, gold offers long-term value, liquidity and no reliance on any government's promise to pay," he said.
He added: "Historically, gold has been the asset central banks rely on through crises, which is why crisis performance remains the main reason they hold it.
"What is important to buyers is the physical nature and lack of counterparty risk involved. Gold can be self-custodied, sold outright, or swapped for currency if liquidity is needed.
"However, it's not just a safe-haven play. These are long-term strategic decisions, not reactions to headlines."
(FILE PHOTO) A recent leaked US document suggested China's military would defeat the US in an event of conflict over Taiwan
Mr Maber went on to explain the evidence on how London, the world’s largest physical over-the-counter (OTC) hub for wholesale gold trading, is the market for Chinese buying.
"London is the supplier. That is simply what the data shows. Direct UK gold exports to China run to something like 1,050 tonnes since 2022, and Societe Generale treats those UK export figures as one of the most reliable read-outs of physical flow anywhere.
"The detail that gives it away is the bar format. We are shipping 400-ounce Good Delivery bars, and those do not trade on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, so this is not metal going to Chinese jewellers or retail investors. It is monetary gold heading for central bank vaults.
"London holds the deepest pool of Good Delivery metal in the world, so if a sovereign wants size, this is where they come. There is a certain irony in the City quietly selling down the asset it spent two centuries learning to price."
Speaking on Beijing buying bullion through the London exchange, Mr Price suggested Britain should take action to prevent China taking action against Taiwan.
He said: "It would be depressing if the country that sold most of its gold (thanks to Gordon Brown) facilitated the buildup of a war chest for a Communist invasion of an ally."
A UK Government spokesman said: "The UK’s longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed.
"We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through dialogue, and not through any unilateral attempts to change the status quo."
