As is well known, the last time China did provide an update of its official gold inventory was in early 2009 when it disclosed to the IMF some 1,054.1 tons of gold held at the PBOC headquarters (or elsewhere).  The problem is that this number is now very outdated, and substantially undercuts China's true gold holdings.

To be sure, there has been extensive speculation on the topic, suggesting China's current gold may be anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000 tons (or more) but the reality is that until Beijing itself decides to officially reveal the number, speculation will remain just that. And, as we and many others, Bloomberg included, have noted such a revelation will not come in a vacuum, but will be largely a political statement about the preparedness of the Renminbi to replace the US Dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Back in 2011, a leaked cable (courtesy of Wikileaks) admitted as much:

"China increases its gold reserves in order to kill two birds with one stone"