Japan beats China as main US debt holder

U.S. Treasury bonds in the hands of Japanese private and institutional investors reached $1.22 trillion at the end of February, from $1,.238 trillionat the end of the preceding month, according to the latest American official figures.

China had $1.2237 trillion in US debt by the end of February, from $1.23981 billion at the end of January.

Last year Japan increased its share of US T-bonds by $13.6 billion while China has reduced them in $49.2 billion.

However, these numbers do not include the positions that China may have through financial intermediaries in other countries.