China Secretly Stockpiling Gold, Fueling Fears of Taiwan Invasion

China's central bank has been secretly stockpiling gold for decades, accumulating nearly 2,000 tonnes of the precious metal since the millennium. This is equivalent to £209 billion in today's money, and experts warn that it could be a precursor to an invasion of Taiwan.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has been on an uninterrupted buying streak of gold for the last 22 months, purchasing 80 tonnes this year alone, equivalent to £8.37 billion. James Price, a former Treasury adviser and senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, warned that 'gold is the one reserve asset that can't be frozen by a letter from the US Treasury.'

A report by Goldman Sachs found that Beijing could have twice as much gold as it has disclosed, potentially as much as 5,000 tonnes according to some analyses. The bank tracked movements through London's export data and discovered a significant gap, suggesting that Beijing is building its gold reserves faster than public numbers indicate.

Goldman Sachs' findings are consistent with the views of Brad Setser, a former US Treasury official who now works at the Council on Foreign Relations. He said that 'there is a widespread view that the PBOC have bought more gold than shows up on its balance sheet.'