People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng met his Bank of England counterpart, Andrew Bailey, on Saturday in Beijing and discussed topics including financial stability and cooperation, China's central bank said on Sunday.

The bank halted its government bond purchases Friday in an attempt to slow a one-way bonds trade that's put unwanted downward pressure on the yuan, analysts say.

China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for a second month in December, signaling renewed appetite after temporarily pausing purchases last year as prices soared.