China's gold accumulation strategy…
Buy physical gold in world markets, re-fabricate it when necessary (into .9999 fine bars in Switzerland), and ship to the mainland.
Hoard all domestically-produced gold... which is now being done, even when produced from operations with foreign-partners. This is also true with silver production, e.g. Silvercorp Metals – a Canadian silver/lead producer with operations on the Chinese mainland.
Partner with (e.g. Pretivm Resources; Barrick Gold-Pascua Lama) or buy outright, gold explorer-producers located on foreign soil.
Purchase for cash, gold production "off the books" from 'informa' miners in S.E. Asia, Africa, and South America. China's intent is to supplant the U.S. as the largest holder of physical gold (claimed to be around 8,000 metric tons) on the planet. (Disclosure: I, David Smith, have held for several years, positions in Silvercorp and Pretivm, purchased in the open market.)
Right now, China is vastly understating what it actually holds as well as how much is being imported