Costco, CCP, and Thee

The Chinese Communist Party gathers, guards, and gives gold to its citizens.

‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.’ ―Sun Tzu, The Art of War

A gold convoy in China (Illustratoin: SORA AI)

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has an elite unit called the Gold Armed Police, also known as the Gold Corps.

This unit is a branch of the People's Armed Police (PAP), separate from the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The PAP is a paramilitary organization under the dual leadership of the State Council and the Central Military Commission. Unlike the PLA, which focuses on external defense, the People’s Armed Police seeks to maintain domestic stability.

Established in 1979, during China's economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), the Gold Armed Police (GAP) addressed the urgent need to increase the country's minimal gold reserves.

The Gold Armed Police is unique globally, as no other nation has a military or paramilitary force dedicated solely to gold exploration, mining, and security (Source: Bullion Star).

The CCP’s Gold Reserves Have Exploded

The People's Bank of China (PBoC), the central bank of the Chinese Communist Party, manages China's official gold reserves.

As of March 2024, the PBoC reported holdings of 2,262 tonnes, up from approximately 395 tonnes in 1979 when the Gold Armed Police was established, marking an increase of about 1,867 tonnes.

The PBoC has actively accumulated gold since the early 2000s, with notable increases reported since 2015, including 225 tonnes in 2023 alone.

However, China seems to be lying about its gold holdings.

1. Gold analyst Dominic Frisby estimates China’s true gold reserves could exceed 31,000 tonnes (10x higher than the CCP official numbers), stating, ‘China likely holds upwards of 31,000 metric tons of gold between official reserves, jewelry, and unreported holdings.’

2. Alastair McLeod, a London Stock Exchange member, claims: ‘China's true reserves are not merely what is reported in their Central Bank's coffers, but also the gold held by the People's Liberation Army, Young Communist faction, and the CCP itself.’

The CCP’s Gold Corp Hides Its Gold Accumulation

Every gold bar kept in reserve by a nation’s Central Bank is to be registered on the books of the World Gold Council so that nations know how much gold each nation keeps in their vaults.

China is circumventing that rule by sending Gold Corp's cargo planes to mines worldwide and obtaining doré (golden), unrefined ore directly from gold mines.

Then, the Gold Corp brings doré bars back to China, where the Chinese Communist Party further refines the doré bars at its massive, government-held Zijin Refinery.

Nine out of every ten 400-gold bars China has accumulated to reach its estimated 31,000 tonnes of gold are not registered since the CCP trades in doré bars.

There is no restriction on the amount of gold a Chinese citizen can bring into the country, but it is strictly forbidden for a citizen to take his gold out of China.

China promotes gold investment for its citizens by setting an example through its accumulation of gold reserves, signaling confidence in gold as a safe asset.

In 2004, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) lifted the ban on private gold ownership, enabling citizens to trade and own gold legally, significantly boosting investment demand.

Citizens can invest in gold through products like Gold ETFs, introduced in 2013, and Gold Accumulation Plans (GAPs), launched by banks like ICBC in 2010, attracting over 10 million customers. Investment bars are widely available through banks, jewelry stores, and online, making gold accessible even in smaller cities.

A notable initiative from June 2023 allows citizens to easily convert renminbi savings into physical gold. The initiative combines gold and yuan in accounts for flexible withdrawals, delivery, and transactions, enhancing investment convenience.

The CCP is encouraging all Chinese citizens to invest in and own gold.

The U.S. Trade War with China Is a Currency War

It used to be that the U.S. dollar was a ‘certificate for gold’ (see illustration above). You could walk into any bank in the United States, hand over the currency paper, and the bank would give you gold in return.

In the 1792 Coinage Act of Congress (The Mint Act), both gold and silver were declared the only real money of the United States. Citizens could dig for gold and silver ore, bring it to one of the United States’ Mint offices around the country, and the U.S. Mint would smelt and purify the ore, stamp it with the seal of the United States, and you’d have your money. Of course, the U.S. Treasury would also mine for ore, purify it, and issue millions of silver and gold coins from the U.S. Mints across the country, depositing the money in banks to be used by the people.

In 1834, Congress authorized Gold and Silver Certificates (paper money) so U.S. citizens wouldn’t have to carry bulky gold or silver coins. U.S. citizens could take these certificates to the banks and exchange them for real money (gold and silver).

Over the last 150 years, the United States government has gradually, steadily, and fatally removed gold and silver as backing to paper currency issued by the U.S. government.

• 1873 (Crime of 1873): U.S. demonetizes silver, adopts a gold standard

• 1900 (Gold Standard Act): U.S. officially ties dollar to gold: ‘The Gold Standard.’

• 1933 (FDR’s Executive Order): The U.S. suspended the gold standard, ordered citizens to surrender gold, and only one man stood against the U.S. government.

• 1944 (Bretton Woods): After World War II, as Europe was rebuilding, the dollar was pegged to gold, but all other nations’ currencies were pegged to the dollar.

• 1971 (Nixon Shock): Dollar to gold convertibility ends for nations that trade with the United States, closing the gold standard, also called ‘the gold window’.

Currency (e.g., ‘the U.S. dollar’) is not money, but was only designed to represent real money.

The U.S. dollar, no longer backed by silver or gold (hard metals), grows worthless.

When a government issues paper with no precious metal backing (hard money), that currency is only as good as its ability to pay its debts (promises to pay). It used to be that government expenses were restricted by how much money (silver and gold) the U.S. Treasury kept in its vaults on behalf of the U.S. government. There are no money constraints with the government now. Currency is printed at will with no backing.

The only way the U.S. government can not only not pay its $37 trillion debt and its $120 trillion ‘unfunded promises to pay’ (Medicare, Social Security, etc.) is to print more of it - inflating its debts away. The U.S. is also confiscating ‘dollars’ held by its enemies (e.g., Russia).

So, other nations are moving away from the dollar (de-dollarization) and toward ‘gold’ as the world’s reserve money that backs a nation’s currency, since the dollar no longer has real money backing except government promises.

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