Beijing buys more US debt

中国增持美国国债

By Wang Bo and Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-18 07:36

BEIJING/WASHINGTON - China increased its holdings of United States treasury debt in July after two months of net sales and economists say it is unlikely Beijing's appetite for US assets will fade in the near future as two of the world's largest economies become increasingly interdependent.

北京/华盛顿---中国在两个月的减持后于七月份增加了其美国国债持有量，经济学家说这表明中国近期对美国资产的欲望没有下降，因为这两个世界最大经济体变得越来越来相互依赖。

China's holdings of treasury bonds rose slightly to $846.7 billion in July after two months of declines, the US Department of Treasury reported on Thursday.

美国财政部周四称，中国的美国国债持有量自两个月的下滑后略升至七月份的8467亿美元。

The news allayed concerns that Washington's largest creditor was moving away from investing in dollar assets.

这条信息缓和了对美国最大债主放弃投资美元的忧虑。

Coincidentally, the debt data came out at the same time as two congressional hearings were being held in the US on China's exchange rate policy. The hearings were attended by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who called for "a significant and sustained appreciation of the yuan over time" and "a more balanced economic relationship".

Economists said the ongoing debate over China's exchange rate and fears about dwindling demand for US treasuries reflected increasing interdependence between the US and China, which is likely to become the world's second largest economy this year.

巧合的是，这一债务数据发出的同时美国两会正在进行中国汇率听证会。财政部长Timothy Geithner出席了听证会，他向来呼吁“提高人民币币值”以及“更加平衡的经济关系”。经济学家说，对中国汇率持续进行的辩论以及对减持美国债券的忧虑反映出中美两国日益增加的相互依赖，而中国于今年有望成为世界第二大经济体。

In the testimony to the hearing at the House Committee of Ways and Means, Geithner acknowledged that the two countries "have significant economic interests" in their relationship and highlighted the importance of the Chinese market on the US economic recovery.

在内务委员会听证会举证阶段，Geithner指出中美两国在相互关系上“有着重大的经济利益”，并且他强调了中国市场对美国经济复苏的重要性。

"A strong and growing China benefits the US, just as a strong and growing US is good for China," Geithner said.

Geithner说：“一个壮大和成长的中国有利于美国，正如一个壮大和成长的美国也有利于中国一样。”

During the first seven months of this year, US exports to China surged 36 percent year-on-year. At the same time, China's exports to the US grew by 21 percent.

今年头七个月，美国对中国出口增加了36%。同时，中国对美国出口增加了21%。

China has become the US' third-largest export market and now accounts for 6.8 percent of the country's total overseas sales.

中国已成为美国第三大出口市场，并且现在达到了其全部海外市场份额的6.8%。

Yao Jian, the Ministry of Commerce spokesman, said on Wednesday the two economies are highly complementary and pledged to boost bilateral economic ties by purchasing more goods from the US.

商务部发言人姚健周三说，中美两个经济体有高度的互补性，并保证通过进口更多美国商品来提升双边经济关系。

Yao said a Chinese trade delegation led by Wang Chao, the vice-minister of commerce, is visiting the US and seeking trade and investment opportunities in the energy and technology sectors.

姚说，由商务部副部长王超带领的贸易代表团正访问美国以寻求在能源和科技领域的交易和投资。

Given the uncertain global and European economic prospects, however, China is not likely to make major adjustments to its US debt investments, predicted Zhang Xiaojing, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中国社科院经济学家张小静预言，在全球经济不确定的情况下，中国不会在其美国国债投资方面做出重大调整。

"China's holdings of US debt may not fluctuate much in the coming months," Zhang said.

张说：“未来几个月，中国对美国国债的持有量不会有大的起伏。”

And economists said the fact that China had bought more treasury bonds does not mean it has stopped diversifying its foreign exchange reserve portfolio.

而且，经济学家说中国增持美国国债的事实不表示中国停止多样化其外汇储备的策略。

China has been a major buyer of Japanese debt this year, having snapped up $27 billion worth in the first seven months. It also doubled its holdings of South Korean debt, to $3.4 billion in the first half of this year.

中国今年已是日本国债的最大购买方，头七个月买入了价值270亿美元的日本国债。同时中国也加倍了其韩国国债的持有量，今年上半年达到了34亿美元。

"Though there is no direct relationship between China buying into the yen and dumping dollar assets during the past few months, it was a good option to diversify the country's colossal foreign exchange reserves on the debts of countries with strong trade ties to China," said Jinny Yan, an economist at Standard Charted Bank.

“尽管过去数月里中国减持美元和购进日元没有直接的关系，但这样储备贸易紧密国巨额国债确是不错选择，”渣打银行经济学家阎静妮说。

Experts also noted that it is essential to make sure that cooperation between China and the US is not derailed by exchange rate disputes.

专家也称，确保中美两国合作不能因为汇率争论而出轨是非常有必要的。

"If the benign relationship in economic areas is dampened due to the exchange rate rift, it is highly likely that there will be a negative impact on China and US cooperation in other crucial areas, such as security and diplomacy," said Shi Yinhong, a senior scholar in American studies at the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

中国人民大学美国研究高级学者石殷红说：“如果因为汇率问题而使两国的经济关系受挫，那就很有可能会波及中美两国的其它重要领域，如安全和外交。”

"China and the US maintain a relatively low level of cooperation and limited strategic trust on security issues. The increasing interdependence of China and the US is mainly in the area of economy and finance," he added.

他还说：“中国和美国保持着相对低水平的合作和有限的安全战略信任。而增加的相互依赖则主要是在经济和财务领域。”

Wang Bo reported from Beijing. Tan Yingzi reported from Washington. Ding Qingfen and He Wei contributed to this story.