The purchases are seen as part of a global move away from the US dollar, the news agency reports
Beijing has been amassing gold reserves for seven consecutive months, Bloomberg reported last week, citing official data.
In May, the Chinese government bought about 16 tons of the precious metal, according to figures from the People’s Bank of China. Beijing has been adding to its gold stockpile every month since November, increasing it by a total of 144 tons, the news outlet wrote.
As of the end of May, China’s gold reserves stood at 67.27 million ounces (2,102 tons), Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, citing data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
China’s purchases follow a global trend of central banks buying gold and moving away from the US dollar as a reserve currency.
Trust in the greenback has been diminishing globally after Washington and its allies froze billions of dollars of Russia’s foreign reserves as part of Western sanctions against Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.
Central banks bought a record volume of gold last year amid rising geopolitical uncertainty and stubborn global inflation, Bloomberg wrote.
The World Gold Council said in a report last month that nearly a quarter of all central banks intend to increase their gold reserves in the next 12 months, as their views on the future role of the US dollar grow more pessimistic.
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