"China’s year-to-date gold imports from Hong Kong are now a record 458.6 tons, well over four times greater than the seven month total in 2011. The Chinese are the world’s largest gold producer and had an output of 355 tons. The Chinese used to export silver but now consume their entire annual production. China owns gold and silver mines in other countries and might have large stocks of bullion under different names around the world. As a side note, the US has been melting down its pre-1965 99% to make up for its production shortfalls."