How China became the world’s gold superpower
Por Chow Chung-yan — South China Morning Post – News feed
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Opinion Chow Chung-yan How China became the world’s gold superpower
Beijing built its dominance through innovation and meticulous planning, not superior natural reserves
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Chow Chung-yan Chow Chung-yan began his journalistic career at the South China Morning Post and rose to become editor-in-chief in 2025. Published: 9:00am, 1 Oct 2026
Perhaps no story illustrates the secret of China’s industrial success better than its rise as the world’s gold superpower.
China has revered the metal for millennia, yet it has never had a gold-based economy. Its own deposits were simply too scarce.
In 1975, as China began its economic modernisation, it desperately needed gold to fund reform and build up foreign reserves. Despite its best efforts, it produced a meagre 13.8 metric tons a year. South Africa, then the undisputed king of gold, produced many times that. Canada, the United States and Australia each comfortably outproduced China as well.
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