(Beijing) – At every juncture, conversations among gold mining executives at the recent China Mining Conference in Tianjin turned toward a single topic: The quest for gold mines overseas.

Owning a mine on foreign soil "primarily can increase (a mining company's) gold reserves and make it more self-sufficient in terms of raw materials, to improve profitability," said Zhang Bingnan, secretary-general of the China Gold Association. "Second, gold prices are expected to go higher."