China stocks up on Russian gold

China stepped up imports of gold from Russia in 2022, data released by the country’s customs agency on Saturday showed.

Last year, China bought a total of 6.6 tons of Russian gold, worth a record $386.9 million, including shipments in both unprocessed (3.7 tons) and semi-processed form (2.9 tons).

In December alone, gold shipments from Russia to China totaled 220.2 kilograms, worth $14.85 million.

Overall, Russian gold exports to the Asian nation soared by 67.3% in physical terms and by 63.3% in monetary terms from 2021.

However, so far Russia’s share in Chinese gold purchases remains small. The main supplier of gold to China is Switzerland, with sales in 2021 totaling over $34 billion. Rounding out the top five suppliers to China are Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Hong Kong