China Dropped US Treasuries Worth $491,900,000,000 in a Decade, Reaching a 14-Year Low in US Debt Holdings

For over a decade, the second-biggest economy in the world has been gradually selling off US government-backed securities valued at hundreds of billions of dollars.

China’s assets of Treasury securities have fallen to a level not seen in more than 14 years, according to new data from the US Treasury Department.

China had been gradually buying US Treasury bonds up until May 2013, when its holdings hit a record high of $1.297 trillion.

Since then, the country that is part of the BRICS has been gradually selling off its Treasury assets. As of August 2023, its ownership had dropped to $805.4 billion, down more than $491 billion from its peak.

China quietly distributed its Treasury holdings at the same time that a leading rating agency downgraded the country’s debt outlook.