China is set to maintain its position as the world's top bullion producer for the seventh consecutive year in the face of estimations that it will produce a record-high 430 tons of gold this year, according to China Gold Group Corp.

Gold output in China could rise 6.7 percent from the 403 tons produced in 2012, according to Du Haiqing, the group's vice general manager. During a mining conference in Tianjin on November 4, he said that production during the first eight months of the year had already reached 270 tons.

Gold consumption in China has also been growing and is expected to exceed 1,000 tons this year, an increase of 20 percent from 2012, according to Du.