China should buy more gold to diversify its US$1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves a prominent government economist said in remarks published Wednesday. Xia Bin, head of the financial research institute at the Development Research Centre, the cabinet's think tank, has long been an advocate of more active management of the country's growing reserve of foreign currency, Reuters reported. "China should use its surplus reserves to fund economic reform and important national strategic projects," he said in comments carried in the People's Daily on Wednesday. "China should also pick the right time to increase the proportion of gold in its reserves." China currently has 600 tonnes of gold in its reserves.