"... As recently as 2002, the private ownership of gold was...

"... As recently as 2002, the private ownership of gold was prohibited in China. You could be jailed if caught with any in your possession. Beginning in 2009, in a stunning about-face, the central government removed all restrictions.

In fact, as Mineweb and other sources report now it is actively pushing folks to buy some personal metal, with China’s Central Television, the main state-owned television company, running news programs cum infomercials, letting the public know just how easy it is to purchase gold and silver as an investment.

It truly is as simple as can be, because every bank sells gold and silver bullion bars in four different sizes to individuals. (Try to find the same the next time you make the trek down to Wells Fargo.)

Mining companies are reportedly encouraging employees to convert some of their wages to gold on payday. Gold is traded in some form 24 hours a day.

... There are persistent rumors that the export of silver has already been banned. Gold could be next.

Thus China, which only yesterday was the lowest per-capita consumer of gold in the world, is bidding to become the biggest. Some analysts believe it will pass India – the top dog since forever – as early as 2010. Clearly, the government believes the country is strengthened if everyone who can holds some hard currency.

All this suggests a mania in the making, and only in the formative stage. Imagine if hundreds of millions of new consumers climb on that particular bandwagon…"

Full article by Erik Bethel at http://seekingalpha.com/article/161540-could-china-propel-gold-to-2-000

My comment:

Now there's absolutely nothing the Gold Cartel can do to stop the Chinese Government and the Chinese people buying gold.

We are in a clash of cultures ...

The USA, now a massive debtor nation that has lived beyond its means for decades at the expense of nations that have been buying large quantities of its paper, is doing anything and everything to protect its privileged position as a printer of paper money for the world and to discourage competitors to its paper, including hard assets like gold.

By contrast China, the emerging super power, and a nation that is not in debt to the rest of the world, unlike the USA, is actively buying large quantities of gold and promoting gold to its citizens, encouraging them to save by purchasing gold instead of the USA which wants its citizens to go further into debt by borrowing even more money to grow its economy.