China Slows Purchases of U.S. and Other Bonds

From the New York Times:

Reversing its role as the world’s fastest-growing buyer of U.S. Treasuries and other foreign bonds, the Chinese government actually sold bonds heavily in January and February before resuming purchases in March, according to data released this weekend by China’s central bank.

China’s foreign reserves grew in the first quarter of this year at the slowest pace in nearly eight years. For the quarter, the reserves edged up $7.7 billion, compared to a record increase of $153.9 billion in the same quarter last year.

The main effect of slower bond purchases may be to weaken Beijing’s influence in Washington, by lessening the reliance of the U.S. Treasury on Chinese central bank purchases at its government bond auctions. Chinese officials from Premier Wen Jiabao on down have expressed growing nervousness over the past two months about their country’s huge exposure to America’s financial well-being.

CDT EBOOKS

Subscribe to CDT

SUPPORT CDT

Browsers Unbounded by Lantern

Now, you can combat internet censorship in a new way: by toggling the switch below while browsing China Digital Times, you can provide a secure "bridge" for people who want to freely access information. This open-source project is powered by Lantern, know more about this project.

Google Ads 1

Giving Assistant

Google Ads 2

Anti-censorship Tools

Life Without Walls

Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention

Open popup
X

Welcome back!

CDT is a non-profit media site, and we need your support. Your contribution will help us provide more translations, breaking news, and other content you love.