Conventional wisdom has America subjected to Chinese blackmail: the immense currency reserves are mainly invested in US Treasury bonds, and if the Chinese decide to diversify, the prices of Treasuries would collapse with serious consequences for the image and the wallet of the Americans .
But yesterday the US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, during the hearing in the Senate for the confirmation of his appointment as US ambassador to China (Locke is a Chinese-American), put the dots on the 'i': the titles of the US Treasuries held by the Chinese are no more than 8% of the American public debt, 70% of which is in the hands of the Americans themselves (in Italy the percentage of public debt in the hands of the Italians is much lower, around 50% ).
And, Locke added, this Chinese position in no way influences US policy towards Beijing. Of course, it can be added, this 8% is expected to grow as long as the United States continues to have a large trade deficit with China.
Source: China Daily
