A rapidly rising value which is reassuring: more and more young Chinese are buying gold, an investment which is playing its role as a refuge in these times of economic uncertainty and unemployment in the Asian country.
In a workshop in Shunde (southern China), a jeweler uses light blows with a hammer to dexterously engrave small patterns of pine thorns on a thin gold plate.
These types of coins are usually purchased as gifts or simply as an investment. But jewelers now have to deal with a group of consumers that they rarely saw before: young people.
Why do they invest in gold rather than in other more traditional products (interest-bearing savings, stock market, real estate)?
Firstly, due to post-pandemic economic difficulties: unemployment particularly affects young people, who want to invest in a safe product.
There is also the real estate crisis. This was once the preferred sector for investing in China, but prices are falling and do not encourage people to buy, with the risk of losing money on resale now being high.
Finally, the recent stock market fall in China has cooled many potential investors.
“Before, only old people bought gold jewelry,” Tan Ruikun, master craftsman at Chinese jewelry giant Chow Tai Fook, told AFP during a visit to their workshop in Shunde, in the province of Guangdong.
“Young people today are different. They also buy it because of its ability to retain its value. »
« Refuge »
Brows furrowed in concentration, his colleagues painstakingly twist small gold earrings to create a piece of jewelry with intricate designs.
Others look through microscopes to add gemstones to a gold pendant. A product designed following comments from young customers, who Chow Tai Fook wishes to attract with more modern elements.
At a Shanghai jewelry market, Zhang Jie, a 30-year-old self-employed worker, calls these new styles of jewelry “pretty as well as durable.”
World gold prices reached a record high in December “and it has climbed further this year, so it’s an asset with a fairly stable value,” she told AFP.
Chinese people born between 1980 and the end of the 2010s “are becoming the main driver” of gold’s popularity, Nikos Kavalis of Metals Focus, a precious metals research firm, told AFP.
Among those under 40, “generation Z” (14-27 year olds) is the one who buys the most gold, according to a study by Chow Tai Fook.
“Pure gold jewelry continues to serve as a safe haven for Chinese consumers in the current economic environment,” the report said.
They were among the best-selling goods in China in 2023, due to the drop in consumption in other sectors.
Bons plans
“When I started to earn my living […]I bought other luxury goods, but they depreciated a lot when you wanted to exchange them for money,” said Feng Ning, 24, a shopper at the Shanghai market.
“My friends and I therefore opted for gold,” explains this medical sector employee.
On the social network Xiaohongshu, the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, many young people exchange good deals.
According to the World Gold Council, consumption of the metal in China last year was driven by “products lighter than 10 grams or less expensive than 2,000 yuan” (375 Canadian dollars), reflecting lower budgets. crowded with young people.
They are generally fond of original creations.
Among them, the style “ guochao » (translated as “Chinese and trendy”), pieces with elements of traditional culture brought up to date.
Chow Tai Fook, a 95-year-old brand often associated with an elderly and wealthy clientele, wants to dust off its image, its general manager Kent Wong told AFP.
“Young people are more and more proud and confident in Chinese culture,” he emphasizes, with Chow Tai Fook having just launched a series of modern jewelry inspired by the Tang dynasty (618-907).
“This is how we pass on our traditions,” he says.