The body that manages the bulk of China’s $1,650bn in foreign exchange reserves has bought a 1.6 per cent stake in France’s Total, the fourth-largest oil group, in a sign of its more aggressive approach to investing the funds under its control.

China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or Safe, which operates under China’s central bank, began building its stake, valued at €1.8bn ($2.8bn), several months ago, according to a person close to the company.