Back in the old days when France still had tight controls on exports of currency, relatives would buy gold take it out of the country & sell it. Or, if you had relatives with business accounts, transfer it to the business overseas and pick it up there.
While there he was invited to a wedding of one of his students, of a rich family.
The wedding went on for several days and nights.
Arriving guests all gave gold jewelry and bullion as wedding gifts.
A member of the family weighed each gift and documented it.
The bride would wear the jewelry until it became too heavy or bulky, then remove it and start with another batch.
My friend said (this was about 15 years or so ago) that he doubted any gift was for less than $5,000 in gold.
Not all Chinese are communists.
Many of those who are capitalists and/or just like more freedom are trying to get out of China.
If we can figure out who is what, we need the freedom loving ones here.
Of note, China never reports on the gold that it mines, quantity. They never sell either. Yet they buy a lot off the international market as well. Stacking on steroids...
They didn't have this gold when CBP shook them down at the border. They came by it somewhere between Georgia and Florida. They were driving back to CA when they got stopped in East Texas. Texas authorities think it was the result of some kind of drug transaction, since a drug dog alerted on the luggage, but no drugs were found. There is more about it from the Van Zant county DA on the internet.