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Russia, China to set their own gold exchanges, cut ties with Western control
Russia and China are taking concrete steps to reduce Western influence over global gold markets, signalling a broader move towards monetary self-reliance and the redomiciliation of gold reserves away from traditional Western centres.
Russia is preparing to launch its own gold exchange, independent of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which has dominated international price-setting since the early 20th century. According to officials, trading on the new Russian platform will be based on physical bullion, with participation open to BRICS member states.
This marks an effort to establish a gold market “self-sufficient” from Western financial infrastructure, reflecting wider de-dollarisation trends among emerging economies.
China has also taken a decisive step by opening its first offshore gold vault in Hong Kong. The facility allows trade partners with a positive balance with China to convert surplus yuan directly into gold via the Shanghai Gold Exchange, bypassing the US dollar entirely.
Describing the move, Chinese officials said it represents “a bold move toward transparency in trade and a return to 19th-century principles: where there’s gold, there’s money.”
The development is expected to enhance the yuan’s role in international transactions, particularly among countries affected by US sanctions. Gold has continued to rise as a safe-haven asset, hitting successive all-time highs in recent months amid trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty.
In Europe, Serbia is one of first, and is amongst a growing number of countries that are bringing their gold reserves home. It has repatriated its entire gold reserves — worth $6bn — and will no longer use foreign partners for gold storage, Bloomberg reported. The government described the move as a precaution against potential financial crises and sanctions.
“Analysts believe Serbia has opened the Pandora’s box,” Bloomberg added, noting that other states may now begin quietly withdrawing gold reserves from Western vaults and bringing them under domestic control.
The reassertion of national control over gold reserves and pricing mechanisms by non-Western economies signals a deepening fracture in the global financial order that has existed since 1922.
Serbia’s central bank plans to repatriate the country’s entire gold reserves from abroad, becoming the first Eastern European country to hold all of its bullion domestically, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) told Bloomberg in a report published on July 24.
The move, which aims to safeguard Serbia's reserves amid heightened global uncertainty, comes as central banks worldwide seek to reduce exposure to foreign-held assets amid rising geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East.
Serbia’s total gold reserves currently amount to 50.5 tonnes, or roughly $6bn at current prices. According to NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, 86% of the reserves are already stored in the central bank’s vaults in Belgrade, with the remaining five tonnes held in Switzerland.
“By returning gold to the country, the National Bank of Serbia wanted to increase the availability and security of gold reserves in times of crisis and uncertainty,” the NBS told Bloomberg, noting that the repatriation process began in 2021 against a backdrop of rising geopolitical and economic instability.
The planned transfer will make Serbia the only country in Eastern Europe not to store any of its gold in traditional financial centres such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States.
As bne IntelliNews has followed, Serbia has significantly increased its gold holdings in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, it purchased 17 tonnes of gold on international markets and at least 19 tonnes from Serbia’s Zijin Mining, a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining Group.
Global central banks accelerated gold purchases following the freezing of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves in 2022, highlighting the vulnerabilities of holding assets denominated in dollars and euros. Repatriating bullion is seen as a way to reduce exposure to such political and financial risks.
Gold has gained renewed favour as a strategic reserve asset amid shifting geopolitical dynamics. Serbia’s proactive accumulation strategy and push for domestic storage position it among the most assertive actors in the region’s monetary policy space.
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