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Goldman China’s bullion imports from Russia surge past $960M in November amid dedollarisation push
China imported US$961 million worth of gold from Russia in November 2025, setting a new monthly record for bilateral trade in the precious metal, according to recently published Chinese customs data.
This marks the second consecutive month of exceptional bullion flows between the two countries, with October gold imports reaching US$930 million. Combined, these two months account for nearly the entirety of China’s Russian gold intake for the year to date.
Between January and November 2025, China imported US$1.9 billion in gold from Russia – a staggering increase compared to the same period in 2024, when total imports stood at just US$223 million.
The surge aligns with China’s ongoing policy to diversify its foreign reserves away from the US dollar, increasing its exposure to physical gold. However, analysts have suggested that the actual volume of bullion moving into China may far exceed official disclosures.
In October, analysts at Société Générale highlighted a significant discrepancy between reported gold imports, domestic output, and central bank holdings. Based on UK gold export data, they estimated China’s real gold acquisitions could be up to 10 times higher than reported – potentially 250 tonnes instead of the 25 tonnes acknowledged by the People’s Bank of China.
Their analysis implies China may have quietly added more than 1,080 tonnes of gold to its reserves since mid-2022.
Adrian Ash, Director of Research at BullionVault
There were periods when it didn’t report changes in its reserves, but this time it did, even if it’s only a ton.
The message to the public is clear: buying gold is a good idea.
Ash added that rising gold demand from central banks reflects increasing global distrust, with a growing number of countries – including India and Poland – also accelerating their reserve diversification strategies.
At the same time, Russia has made a significant policy shift. In late November, the Central Bank of Russia began selling sovereign gold directly into the domestic market – a move described by Ukrainian news outlet UNN as unprecedented.
The development comes amid a sharp decline in Russia’s liquid sovereign wealth assets. Between 2022 and 2025, the value of liquid holdings in the National Welfare Fund dropped from US$113.5 billion to US$51.6 billion. Its gold holdings also fell by more than half, from 405.7 tonnes to 173.1 tonnes.
Estimates suggest the central bank could sell as much as 230 tonnes of gold in 2025 – worth around US$30 billion – with the potential for a further 115 tonnes to be sold in 2026.
UNN reported that:
The strategy of selling gold supposedly allows for prompt budget replenishment and ruble stability, but it creates long-term risks: it deepens the deficit of liquid reserves, makes state finances more dependent on asset sales, and limits opportunities for future interventions.
Separately, the Bank of Russia pointed to ongoing accumulation by emerging-market central banks as a key support for global bullion demand, driven in part by geopolitical uncertainty and G7 proposals to seize frozen Russian assets. As of mid-November, Russia’s total gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at US$734.1 billion, with US$243 billion of its US$300 billion in frozen funds held in Europe.
