China becomes biggest US treasuries holder

(China.com)
Updated: 2009-01-07 15:12

China overtook Japan in September to become the biggest foreign holder of US treasury bonds, Bloomberg.com reports.

The US Treasury Department said Tuesday, November 18, 2008,  in Washington that China led all foreign official investors in September by posting a net increase of over 43 billion dollars of US treasuries, the highest amount China got over the last three quarters, bringing its total ownership close to $585 billion.

Japan, now the second-largest foreign owner of US government debt, reduced its holdings by $12.8 billion to $573.2 billion.

China's ownership of US government debt has doubled since July 2005, while Japan's holdings are down from a peak of $699 billion in August 2004.

The UK, the third-largest foreign owner of US treasuries, increased its holdings to $338.4 billion.