The growth of China’s presence in the global gold market has been phenomenal in the last dozen years. Prior to this century, HSBC sent a delegation from their London gold department to see the Chinese financial authorities and were rebuffed as ‘trying to sell gold to China’. Since then, the Chinese financial authorities switched on and set off with a purpose.
In 2001, the Chinese government lifted its final controls on the gold market, releasing a pent-up demand that since then has become stronger. From 2001 to 2010, China's annual consumption of gold grew at a 7.5% compounded annual growth rate. This chart shows how China's demand for gold jewelry has increased from just over 15.55 tonnes [500,000 ounces] in the late 1980’s to over 373.25 tonnes [12 million ounces] at the end of 2010, in spite of gold going from $200 $1,650 an ounce.
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