As we previously noted, China has long been silent on its holdings of gold as many countries are turning away from the greenback.

The value the country's holdings of the precious metal reached US$79.319 billion, increasing by more than $3 billion compared to the end of last year.

China is also trying "to diversify its reserves" away from the greenback,according to Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at currency broker OANDA. The analyst told the South China Morning Post that the state of affairs in global politics, including a trade war with the US, are driving China's interest to buy gold as a "safe haven hedge."