According to Kitco, a new report released on Sunday showed that Chinese regulators, including customs and central bank officials, are proposing a major overhaul of current import and export regulations governing gold and gold products of this country.
A report by Xinhua News Agency said that the new gold mechanism proposed aims to "streamline administrative procedures, facilitate trade and improve the management of gold brought across borders by individuals".
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said that the draft amendments are being jointly developed with the General Department of Customs to update the current legal framework, in line with changing economic conditions, legal requirements and policy adjustments" - the report stated.
The new draft regulations remove the current clause requiring the PBOC and customs authorities to "coordinate the development of regulations for individuals carrying or sending gold and gold products across borders" - the report said.
The new regulations seem to be reducing the central bank's management of gold trade, as the draft states that "transborder movements like this will continue to be subject to customs surveillance", but does not mention PBOC's continued participation.
These amendments also aim to improve convenience for businesses and the public by formalizing measures that have been proven effective in practice.
In addition, according to the central bank, the draft will strengthen early supervision by clarifying the scope of customs supervision, improving the management of foreign trade companies operating in the form of agents and perfecting the penalty framework for violations" - the report wrote.
China's gold imports in May reached their highest monthly level in more than two years, as the world's number one gold market showed strong demand for gold bars, as the price of this precious metal remained 25% lower than its peak in early 2026.
According to the latest customs data released last weekend, China imported about 163 tons of gold last month, the largest monthly total since March 2024. The volume of gold bar imports from the beginning of the year to the end of May reached about 692 tons, an increase of 76% compared to the same period in 2025.
Song Jiangzhen, a researcher at the Guangzhou Southern Gold Market Institute, told Bloomberg that China's demand for gold bars, along with linked gold in consumers' increasing gold accumulation plans, is one of the main drivers leading to the recent increase in imports.
The huge import figure of May has surpassed the impressive growth of April, driven by the price difference in the country this month.
Net gold imports into China reached 157 tons in April, according to the latest data from Chinese Customs, an increase of 10% compared to the previous month and 40% higher than the same period last year, making April the strongest growing month since March 2024" - Mr. Ray Jia - Head of China Research at the World Gold Council (WGC) noted in a recent report. "The positive domestic gold price difference is still a key factor encouraging imports.
Looking ahead, Mr. Jia said that the seasonal factor "shows stability in the gold jewelry sector as the industry supplements reserves after a period of weak purchasing power in previous months".
Lower gold prices may help boost these restocking activities, although jewelry companies may stand out if the downward momentum continues to accelerate," he added. "In terms of investment, the cooling upward momentum of gold prices may further limit gold bar buying.
However, in early June, many figures indicated that China's gold market was showing clear signs of cooling down.
In the context of an increasingly unstable market, gold ETF funds have witnessed a general decline in managed assets, with some funds recording significant net withdrawal of capital" - a report from Gelonghui Finance noted - "As of June 3, 14 gold ETF funds have recorded net withdrawal of capital exceeding 10 billion yuan (about 1.48 billion USD) in the past month".
The report added: "The previously widely accepted investment view of "buying at the bottom while gold prices are falling" has begun to face differentiation under the volatile market conditions today.
