http://www.commodityonline.com/news/China-to-raise-gold-silver-reserves-in-2011-36118-3-1.html "BEIJING (Commodity Online): China is taking several initiatives to raise the country's reserves in gold and silver in 2011 in an attempt to globalize the Yuan. The main strategy is to buy gold and silver reserves when prices of these precious metals fall. According to a report published by the Economic Information Daily, the Chinese central bank, the People's Bank of China, is chalking out plans to buy gold and silver reserves these days considerably as their prices are currently down. Gold prices have come down by nearly $100 in the last few days. Silver prices that have been also following gold prices in the last one year have fallen thanks to the rise in US dollar value. China has ambitious plans to make its currency Yuan globally competitive. Several analysts have been predicting that in few years the Chinese Yuan will overtaken the US dollar as the global currency. Recently, global commodities investing legend Jim Rogers said that the Chinese Yuan will eventually dominate the global currency market, overtaking the US dollar. According to Central bank adviser Xia Bin, China should increase its reserves in gold and silver, said the report from the Economic Information Daily. "Increasing gold reserve at the time of prices dip is the strategy of internationalizing the Yuan," the report said. China, the largest producer of gold, had announced last year that it would considerably step up gold reserves in the next decade to the tune of 10,000 tons. Currently, the Chinese gold reserves stand less than 1200 tons. ......................" This 1000 tons/year folks
At the moment not many, but that might change in the near future. Besides China is one of the major silver producers. It would be stupid not to take an advantage of it.
I would find it very interesting if China didn't want to have Silver reserves along side of Gold. Silver is embedded in China's blood, also they have alot of it. So it makes alot of sense to me that they would see it as money once again. having said this, i don't see Silver as having a long term monetary status like Gold, but short to medium i really see China using Silver.
Its interesting, I hinted to some people at work that the USD won't be the worlds reserve currency in the near future. They all laughed at me and said, what will it be. I said possibly the RMB backed by gold. They brushed it all off and said, no one will trust a communist country. I told them its starting to happen, China and Russia recently did an oil deal in their own currencies. My colleague also mentioned that the second most used currency is the Euro, no one will trust the RMB. I gave up giving them more insight, time will tell. Both the USD and the Euro won't last very long. China know's their currency at the moment is fiat. They are trying to push it into an accepted currency with backing. I'm not too fussed, things will play out soon. I have the patience to wait and prove my colleagues wrong. I hold some RMB, but I won't touch the Euro or USD. Slam
I'm not sure if the average Chinese are bullish on silver. Every Chinese who buy PM at all, always buy gold! Silver is never on their radar.
I was talking to a Chinese girl I know, and me buying silver came up- her first response was 'why silver! gold gold gold'
doesn't really matter what the average Chinese person thinks, only matters what the government wants them to think. Just look at what their government is telling their people "BUY SILVER and they are doing a very good job at buying it all up
