China has given domestic and international banks permission to import large amounts of gold into the country, five sources familiar with the matter said, potentially helping to support global gold prices after months of declines.

China’s central bank and customs authority said on Tuesday they would simplify procedures for companies exporting gold, following a slump in domestic demand for the metal.

Companies applying to export gold no longer need to submit physical gold inventory certificates approved by the State Council, China’s cabinet, or gold production capacity certificates, the central bank said.

This is the story of how the Chinese central bank manipulates premiums on gold traded over the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

How much gold does China really have? More than the US is the answer.

CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of two new gold futures contracts on October 14, 2019, pending regulatory approvals.

China Gold International Resources Corp., the overseas arm of state-owned China National Gold Group, is on the hunt for acquisitions to replenish its pipeline as deal-making in the sector heats up thanks to a jump in the metals price.

The miner, listed both in Canada and Hong Kong, is targeting companies with assets in operational stages that have ramp-up plans. The company is comfortable making purchases with a price at roughly $1 billion to $2 billion, Xie said.

As can be seen, destination Asia, which has been the principal recipient of Swiss gold exports in the past, has paled into virtual insignificance with a huge volume re-exported back to the UK – usually the principal source of Swiss gold imports. Reports put this down to big inputs into the principal gold ETFs which have their gold principally vaulted in London. Notably, in addition to the now low levels of gold being exported to China and Hong Kong, exports to India have fallen off a cliff as well. The suggestion here is that the recent higher gold price has led to buyers holding off and looking for a possible fall before re-entering the market. This stand-off will likely persist until either the price falls back, or purchasers just get used to the higher price levels.

China has severely restricted imports of gold since May, bullion industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in a move that could be aimed at curbing outflows of dollars and bolstering its yuan currency as economic growth slows.

The world’s second largest economy has cut shipments by some 300-500 tonnes compared with last year - worth $15-25 billion at current prices,

This month the Chinese central bank reported that in December 2018, its gold reserve holdings increased by 10 tonnes, the first claimed increase in Chinese monetary gold holdings since October 2016.

Based on previous patterns reporting patterns, a two year hiatus in reporting gold holdings is not unprecedented for the Chinese central bank and its reporting agency SAFE. What is strange, however, is that after an extended absence of reporting, the Chinese are coming back to the table with not a lot to show for it.

In the past two decades China has become a dominant global force economically, commercially and, increasingly, politically. In this issue we assess the outlook for China across a range of perspectives.