An illustration show a US dollar bill and a calculator at a bank in Fuyang, East China's Anhui Province. Photo: VCG

China's holdings of US Treasury bonds edged down to $700.5 billion in September from $701 billion in August, according to US Treasury Department data released on Tuesday.

The data, released after the US federal government's 43-day shutdown, marked the fifth month this year in which China slashed the holdings.

In July, China's holdings of Treasuries had fallen to $696.9 billion, the lowest since October 2008, when holdings stood at $684.1 billion, according to Reuters.

China has gradually reduced its US Treasury holdings over the past decade. Since April 2022, China's US Treasury holdings have remained below $1 trillion and have continued a downward trend, according to domestic news outlet thepaper.cn.

China reduced its holdings of US Treasury bonds by $173.2 billion in 2022, $50.8 billion in 2023, and $57.3 billion in 2024, thepaper.cn reported.

Overall, global holdings of US Treasuries edged lower to $9.249 trillion in September, slightly below $9.262 trillion in August. 

Japan remained the largest non-US holder of US Treasuries, with $1.189 trillion in September, its highest level since August 2022.

UK investors, the second- largest holder of US Treasuries, also cut their holdings to $865 billion in September, down from $904.3 billion in August.

China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $3.3387 trillion at the end of September, up $16.5 billion, or 0.5 percent, from the end of August, official data with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed.

Supported by a steadily growing economy, China remains well positioned to maintain the stability of its foreign exchange reserves, the administration said.

China has also increased its gold holdings in a consecutive manner. According to the SAFE, the country's official gold reserves reached 74.06 million ounces at the end of September, up 74.02 million ounces from a month earlier, the 11th consecutive monthly increase.

Global Times