According to data released by the US Treasury on Wednesday, China has continued to reduce its holdings of US treasury securities as the threat of economic sanctions from Washington grows. According to the data, Beijing’s holdings fell to $859.4 billion in January from $867.1 billion in December.
The decrease in January was more than double the $3.1 billion cut the previous month, but less than the $7.8 billion cut in November.
China is the world’s second largest foreign holder of US government debt, but it has reduced its holdings for six months in a row, with the figure falling below the symbolic $1 trillion mark in April 2022.
The drop coincides with Beijing’s efforts to diversify its portfolio and reduce reliance on the US dollar, while also encouraging wider international use of the Chinese yuan in the face of sanctions, according to the South China Morning Post.
According to Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Department of International Finance at the Institute of Finance and Banking, China has already reduced its holdings by 34.1% over the last ten years, including a 16.6% cut in 2022 based on US data.
