Caution pays

Chinese art buyers are less impulsive today than they were a few years ago, Lin Qi reports.

China lost its top slot in the fine arts market to the United States last year, after six years of reign owing to a notable decrease in the total volume of auctions, according to a global study.

While rich Chinese art buyers have, on one hand, become cautious with home auctions, intensifying the competition for high-quality, rare goods, on the other, they are stepping up the purchase of foreign art, especially modern and contemporary pieces by prominent Western artists, says last week's 2015 Art Market Report.