China is one of the world's largest buyers of gold as central banks shift towards the precious metal, which has overtaken US Treasuries to become the world's top reserve asset amid higher valuations and its appeal as a geopolitical hedge, the European Central Bank said.

Historic bullion rally boosts metal's share of reserves to 27%

Gold overtook U.S. Treasuries in global official reserves by market value, the ECB said. The move reflected a 60% gold rally and rising demand for reserve