China: Platinum’s Understated Yet Strategic Move

Market Leadership in Platinum Demand

China has rapidly emerged as a decisive force in the global platinum market, redefining demand patterns and helping drive a sharp price rally in 2025. Chinese imports now far exceed Western investment flow, with June 2025 data showing platinum imports up 174% year-on-year—highlighting relentless accumulation and a sustained uptick in vault holdings. As Chinese retail and institutional investors diversify beyond gold, strong inflows into coins and bars have underpinned platinum’s newfound status as a strategic store of value.

Jewellery: The World’s Fastest Switch

The shift within China’s jewellery sector is especially dramatic. Surveys and retail sales data reveal a rapid swap from gold to platinum, with platinum jewellery fabrication up over 26% year-on-year in early 2025. This consumer-driven boom is most pronounced in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, where cultural prestige and perceived value fuel platinum’s outperformance versus gold. Industry analysts attribute the spike to smart diversification and platinum’s growing “hard asset” reputation, propelling China into global leadership for platinum jewellery innovation and consumption.

Rare Earth Playbook: Repeated in Platinum

China’s platinum strategy echoes its playbook from the rare earths market. Strategic stockpiling, proactive state guidance, and disciplined accumulation have allowed China to squeeze supply and gain global leverage—tactics now being applied to platinum. State-backed buyers are adding strongly to official reserves while anchoring long-term supply deals, with domestic policies encouraging ‘buy the dip’ accumulation and protection of supply chains.

Strategic Investment: China Leads Again

On the policy front, platinum’s national strategic status is clear. With official focus on hydrogen, EVs, and next-generation catalysts, Chinese policymakers and financial institutions have elevated platinum as an essential hedge and store of value—both for industry and retail savers. Recent months have seen sharp increases in lease rates and borrowing costs as physical supplies tighten, with Chinese ETF and product flows helping pull platinum squarely into the investment mainstream.

New Era For Platinum: The China Effect

The “China effect” is now unmistakable. A new cycle of high prices and physical tightness has arrived, driven less by Western fund flows and more by Chinese strategic foresight and consumption. As platinum outpaces gold in some demand channels, China’s coordinated market moves and consumer enthusiasm signal the arrival of a new pillar in global precious metals—a role where intelligent diversification, policy alignment, and persistent demand turn platinum into both a future-facing technology metal and a global financial bellwether.

In our opinion, It is now only a matter of time before the Western world follows China’s lead and the long-awaited next Platinum Bull Market finally accelerates into full force