CHINA has become an important market in the world for the consumption of the precious metal of silver since its deregulation.

　　Paul Bateman, executive director of the Silver Institute, made the remarks at the first Annual China Silver Conference held recently in the capital of North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

　　Before market liberalization in January 2000, silver was treated in China as a kind of special commodity, and its trade was under the strict, unified control of the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank. In the 1990s, the metal began to be used mainly for industrial purposes as its function as a currency weakened.

　　That’s all changed now. Zhou Juqiu, deputy director of the China Nonferrous Metal Industry Association, quoted statistics as saying that annual silver consumption now stands at around 1,000 tons in China.

　　Zhou said that after the opening of the silver market in China, demand from the electrics and electronics, chemical reagent and chemical materials sectors increased greatly, while the consumption of silver in manufacturing photo-sensitive materials and silver wares grew moderately.

　　The Chinese people have traditionally loved silver jewelry and wares but have long had to use aluminium and other silver-gilded articles as substitutes.  (Xinhua)