At the NPC meetings, Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern over $1 trillion of U.S. assets held by China, and called on the U.S. to guarantee its “good credit.” From the Washington Post:
Wen’s remarks, which were made at the close of the annual National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing, echoed those that have been made by other high-ranking policymakers and bankers over the past year since the subprime crisis devastated the value of the mortgage-backed securities that made up a large chunk of China’s U.S. holdings.
“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried,” Wen said.
At a number of diplomatic meetings since then, Chinese officials have raised the issue of U.S. Treasuries and have sought assurances the United States that it will do everything possible to maintain the stability of its economy. On Friday, Wen called on the Obama administration to “maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets.”
Read also article from Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Xinhua.
