BIDENOMICS: China Dumps Nearly $500 Billion in U.S. Bonds

Countries continue divesting from U.S. Treasury Bonds.

World’s second-largest economy offloaded US$13.6 billion worth of US debt in July

But China still remains the second-largest foreign holder of US Treasury bills, having been surpassed by Japan in mid-2019

By: Frank Chen, South China Post 19 Sep, 2023

Amid persistent concerns over the safety of its overseas assets – most of which are US dollar-denominated – China has slashed its holdings of United States Treasury bills for the fourth straight month.

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The world’s second-largest economy offloaded US$13.6 billion worth of US debt in July, bringing China’s holdings to US$821.8 billion, according to the latest data from the US Department of the Treasury.
China’s overall holding of US debt remains at a 14-year low, after reaching that level in June.

Beijing has been continuously cutting China’s US debt holdings since early 2022, with two exceptions – in March of this year and July 2022, when it increased holdings by US$20.3 billion and US$320 million, respectively.

Beijing remains the second-largest foreign holder of US Treasury bills after being surpassed by Japan in June 2019.

The reduction in US Treasury bills holdings between March 2022 and this past July – China dumped US$191.4 billion, Japan slashed US$116.5 billion, Ireland cut US$44.4 billion, Brazil shed US$8.6 billion and Singapore got rid of US$4.8 billion – was partly because of the slew of aggressive US interest rate hikes that have dampened bond prices.

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