China’s U.S. debt holdings jumps to $1.160 trillion
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STEVE CHIOTAKIS: The U.S. is more more indebted to China than we thought. The government’s latest tally shows China still owns the most U.S. debt, by far.
From Washington, Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: China has a lot of money to invest, because it sells so much to other countries. And one of its top investments has been U.S. treasuries. Recently, it looked like China was going to diversify away from us. But now the Treasury Department puts China’s U.S. holdings at more than a trillion dollars. That sounds like a scary number. But scarier still? China losing interest in our debt.
Erin Ennis of the U.S. China Business council says, the Chinese are buying American because they think we’re a good investment.
ERIN ENNIS: They are buying into the idea that we are going to be able to make the changes necessary to have the economy continue to go on an up trend.
But Ennis says, we didn’t have a lot of competition for China’s money. Nobody’s economy is looking too good right now. We won a beauty contest where no one’s especially pretty.
In Washington, I’m Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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