China cuts US T-bill holdings for fourth month in a row

China’s holdings of US Treasury bonds fell US$11.5 billion in February to US$877.5 billion, the fourth consecutive month the country has reduced its exposure to US government debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. After Beijing jettisoned US$34.2 billion of Treasury bonds in December, there was concern that it was shifting away from US assets. But sales eased off in January and February, and China remains the largest holder of US government debt. It has sold off US$60.8 billion since the start of November. The data only show Treasury bonds directly held by individual nations, which means that Beijing’s recent tendency to buy more through banks and other third parties in places like Hong Kong and London isn’t taken into account. There is also evidence to suggest that China is moving away from short-term debt and into longer-dated Treasury paper, which means its overall exposure might not be changing much at all.