“China should step up the adjustment of its overseas assets and liabilities, increasing the income of overseas net assets. To this end, China should reduce the proportion of overseas assets in its foreign exchange reserves,” Yu said, according to a transcript published by the Beijing-based New Economist think tank on Sunday.
Yu said that China needs to improve the security of its overseas assets, especially its foreign exchange reserves, which stood at US$3.17 trillion in November, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Under the current conditions, China should “try to reduce the stock of foreign exchange reserves” to a level that is recognised “internationally”, he said, without elaborating the specific foreign exchange reserve standards.
China held US$778.1 billion of US Treasury bills in September, based on US Treasury data, although the data excludes bonds held by non-US custodians, such…
