Official U.S. numbers show that China held $591 billion in U.S. government debt in August. A year earlier, it held $700 billion. The August amount was the lowest in 18 years.
But these numbers may not tell the whole story. China may keep some debt in bank accounts in other countries. U.S. records do not always show the real owners of these accounts. The amounts listed for Canada and Belgium grew sharply.
Financial expert Brad Setser thinks China keeps some holdings abroad. He estimates that U.S. financial holdings still make up 50% to 55% of the money and other valuable things China keeps in reserve. China’s real total may therefore be higher than the official numbers show.
