China worried about U.S. Government Bonds

[James48843]

China 'worried' about US Treasury holdings

By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer Joe Mcdonald, Ap Business Writer



BEIJING – China's premier didn't say it in so many words, but the implied warning to Washington was blunt: Don't devalue the dollar through reckless spending. Premier Wen Jiabao's message is unlikely to be misunderstood at the White House. It is counting on Beijing to help pay for its stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds. China already is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. A weaker dollar would erode the value of those assets.


"Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said at a news conference Friday after the closing of China's annual legislative session. "I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."




(more- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090313/ap_on_re_as/as_china_us_economy_15 )



(P.S.- If I were him, I'd be worried, but I would be MORE worried if I were the Secretary of the Treasury, because if (and when)China stops buying our debt, we're all in a world of hurt...)

[Buster]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Saturday downplayed divisions between the U.S. and Europe over how to tackle the world's financial crisis. China should have "absolute confidence" that its sizable investments in the United States are safe.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090314/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy

[Bullitt]

I remember scholars who said not to worry about the housing crisis a short while back. My thing is, an overnight exodus would be catastrophic, yes, but a trickle to the exit.... err diversification, would make someone a bag holder. Let's be honest here- The American Consumer is dead.


So should we be worried? In the long run, yes—but we probably won't see a massive and sudden catastrophe. China does want to disentangle itself from its reliance on the dollar. To do that, though, it also has to decrease its reliance on exports to the United States. That won't happen overnight. As bad as the financial meltdown has been for the United States, it has been even worse for much of the rest of the world.http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/money-trail/2009/10/14/stop-worrying-about-china?page=full