China cuts holdings of US government debt to $772 billion in September

File photo shows a worker counting Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) at a bank in Linyi, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Chunlei)

China's holdings of US treasury bonds fell to $772 billion in September, a drop of $2.6 billion from a month earlier, marking the third consecutive monthly decline, according to the latest data released by the US Department of the Treasury on Monday.

In September, China remained the second largest holder of US government debt. However, China's holding of US government debt has been below the $1 trillion mark since April 2022.

Japan, the largest holder of US government debt, also reduced its US treasury bond holdings by $5.9 billion in September, the data showed.

According to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on November 7, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $3.26 trillion at the end of October, a drop of $55.32 billion, or 1.67 percent, compared to the end of September. The decline was attributed to the recent changes in forex rates on the global market.