China, a top owner of US government debt, appears to be secretly buying bonds via third locations to hide its importance as a major creditor to Washington, experts told a congressional forum.
They said China-linked entities may be scooping up US bonds in London, Hong Kong or other locations, pointing out that official data almost certainly understates Beijing’s US government debt holdings.
Some say the massive holdings by China have implications for US national security, making it harder for Washington to carry out policies in conflict with Beijing.
The latest figures by the Treasury Department this month showed a drop in China’s Treasury bond holdings by 34.2 billion US dollars or 4.3 percent to 755.4 billion US dollars in December, the biggest decline in about a decade.
Full story: China may be hiding US Treasury bonds: experts