How much america owes china

Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Political Issues. Top 10 Countries the U. Owes Money To. A jumble of street signs in a Taiwan street. Taiwan gets most of its income from trade and, as a hedge against the hard times, it invests in U. The flower carpet at the Grande-Place, Belgium. Despite its small size, Belgium's reputation as an international banking center means lots of financial transactions reside here. A glimpse of the Sao Paulo city center. Brazil is the world's ninth largest economy.

Despite its small physical size, Switzerland manages more financial assets than any other country. Tiny, picturesque Luxembourg is also a big buyer of U. People enjoy afternoon drinks outside a pub in the center of Dublin, Ireland.

A Shanghai skyline at dusk. China is the U. A Japanese girl smiles in a Tokyo city street. Japan is America's largest foreign creditor. Fireworks fly over the Jefferson Memorial on the Fourth of July.

Wonder what the Founding Fathers would have made of the vast U. China broke the trillion-dollar mark back in according to the U. Treasury report. However, China does not disclose how much debt the U. How much debt is the U. As of , U. Who does the United States owe the most debt to? As of July , Japan overtook China and became the largest foreign debt collector for the U.

What countries does the U. Dollar the World's Currency? Sources Amadeo, Kimberly. March 12, April 30, Holdings Aren't a Threat, Pentagon Says.

September 10, March 4, See what other countries top list. March 26, Of the total 7. China held 1. Japan held 1.

Other foreign holders included oil exporting countries and Caribbean banking centers. In , the United States had a total public national debt of In , the total interest expense on debt held by the public of the United States reached billion U. Total outlays of the U. By , spending will reach 5. Loading statistic Show source.

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Show detailed source information? Register for free Already a member? More information. Department of the Treasury changed how it measures the debt. This Treasury-led change makes it difficult to make long-term comparisons. China is taking steps to make its currency, the yuan , transition to a global currency. To do that, China had to loosen its peg to the dollar. That made the yuan more attractive to forex traders in global markets.

China's economic growth has slowed over the years. As China's exports decline, it is less able to invest in U. China also is liberalizing its control of the yuan, also called the renminbi. It has opened yuan trading centers in London and Frankfurt.

China is also responding to accusations of manipulation. Most countries want their currency values to fall so they can win global currency wars. Countries with lower currency values export more since their products cost less when sold in foreign countries.

The Chinese government uses U. It receives these dollars from Chinese companies that receive them as payments for their exports. It allows the U. Treasury to borrow more at low rates. Congress can then increase the federal spending that spurs U. Owning U. Treasury notes helps China's economy grow. You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access.

Create an account to read 2 more. Reinhart, and Christoph Trebesch. Read more on Economics or related topics Financial markets and Emerging markets.

His research projects focus on international capital flows, sovereign debt and financial history. Carmen M. Reinhart is the Minos A. Zombanakis professor of the international financial system at Harvard Kennedy School. She was senior policy adviser and deputy director at the International Monetary Fund and held positions as chief economist and vice president at the investment bank Bear Stearns.

Her book with Kenneth S. Rogoff entitled This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly documents the striking similarities of the recurring booms and busts that have characterized financial history.