Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
China’s holdings of Treasuries have fallen to their lowest level since 2009, as Beijing holds more of its US government bonds through lower-profile accounts and diversifies into alternative assets.
The value of US sovereign debt held by Chinese investors fell by $57bn to $759bn in 2024, data published by the US Treasury on Tuesday showed. This does not include Chinese-owned Treasuries held in accounts in other countries.
Analysts say the change partly reflects China’s desire to diversify its foreign reserves by buying assets such as gold. But they add that Beijing is seeking to disguise the true extent of its Treasury holdings by shifting them to custodian accounts registered elsewhere.
“China made a decision around 2010 that holding Treasuries was a risk, it looked bad optically that so much of China’s…
