China shines as long-term gold industry leader

China is becoming the dominant long-term player in the gold industry, and the country's growing consumption of gold is set to continue, the head of the World Gold Council said on Thursday.

"China is consuming north of 1,000 tons of gold (annually) and the consumption is at a steady pace. It reflects the steady growth of GDP in China," said Chairman of the World Gold Council David Harquail. "As long as the wealth of China keeps expanding, gold will get its share of the growth in the future."

He estimated Chinese people buy about 30 percent of gold globally, mostly in the form of jewelry.