Hence, it was cheaper to get silver by using the paper money to buy it on the market than by converting the paper money into silver at the fictional legal price.
You can easily buy gold and silver through a vehicle that is backed by actual gold and silver rather than derivatives, swaps, and other esoteric paper promises.
These alarm bells that China should increase its gold and even start building a silver position, plus increase its forex position in non-dollar paper have been ringing louder and louder, and for years now.