Which countries hold the most US debt? Over the past 20 years, Japan and China have owned more US Treasurys than any other foreign nation. Between 2000 and 2022, Japan grew from owning $534 billion to just over $1 trillion, while China's ownership grew from $101 billion to $855 billion.
Foreign holders of United States treasury debt
Of the total 7.6 trillion held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 868.9 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. Other foreign holders included oil exporting countries and Caribbean banking centers.
Investors in Japan and China hold significant shares of U.S. public debt. Together, as of September 2022, they accounted for nearly $2 trillion, or about 8 percent of DHBP. While China's holdings of U.S. debt have declined over the past decade, Japan has slightly increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities.
For the past 20 years, Japan and China have been the top two foreign countries with US Treasuries. According to usafacts.org, as of January 2023, Japan owned $1.1 trillion in US Treasuries, making it the largest foreign holder of the national debt.
Key Takeaways
China invests heavily in U.S. Treasury bonds to keep its export prices lower. China focuses on export-led growth to help generate jobs. To keep its export prices low, China must keep its currency—the renminbi (RMB)—low compared to the U.S. dollar.
An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.
Consequences of Owing Debt to the Chinese
If China called in all of its U.S. holdings, the U.S. dollar would depreciate, whereas the yuan would appreciate, making Chinese goods more expensive.
A major lender abroad, China is facing a debt bomb at home: trillions of dollars owed by local governments, their financial affiliates, and real estate developers.
Why Does Japan Buy U.S. Debt? Because Japan exports so many goods to the U.S. and other nations, the country frequently develops an account surplus in dollars - the currency the U.S. and other countries give Japan in exchange for their products.
When adding portfolio debts (including the $1 trillion of U.S. Treasury debt purchased by China's central bank) and trade credits (to buy goods and services), the Chinese government's aggregate claims to the rest of the world exceed $5 trillion in total.
Within part of its wartime financial aid, the American government gave China a $500 million credit in 1942 and shipped these funds in the form of gold bullion. This was done to stabilize their currency. Our own State Department records show that China never paid back this debt to the American government either.
Stocks, corporate debt and the value of the dollar would probably plummet. Volatility could be extreme, not just in the United States but across the world. In 2011, around when lawmakers struck a last-minute deal to avoid breaching the debt limit, the S&P 500 fell 17 percent in just over two weeks.
According to the Bank of Russia's estimate, external debt of the Russian Federation as of June 30, 2023 totaled $347.7 billion, having decreased by $33.0 billion, or by 8.7%, since the end of 2022.
The case of debts arising from World War II is somewhat less complicated. At this time only four countries, discussed below, owe the U.S. government debts of any size arising from World War II programs to aid our allies. Other countries have paid their debts in full.
The value of U.S. Treasury securities held by residents of Russia amounted to 67 million U.S. dollars in January 2023, having declined by 89 percent from the previous month. Furthermore, in March 2020, the figure decreased sharply to 3.85 billion U.S. dollars, down from 12.6 billion U.S. dollars one month prior.
Nearly every year, the government spends more than it collects in taxes and other revenue, resulting in a deficit. (The debt ceiling, set by Congress, caps how much the U.S. can borrow to pay for its remaining bills.) The national debt, now at a historic high, is the buildup of its deficits over time.
As recently as 2020, total debt in the United States relative to GDP exceeded China's. But as of mid-2022, China's relative debt burden stood 40 percent higher than America's.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australian Government gross debt has increased from $534.4 billion in March 2019 to $894.9 billion as of 28 October 2022.
As of 2020, China's total government debt stands at approximately ¥ RMB 146 trillion (US$ 47.0 trillion), equivalent to about 45% of GDP. Standard & Poor's Global Ratings has stated Chinese local governments may have an additional ¥ RMB 40 trillion ($5.8 trillion) in off-balance sheet debt.
That is at least in part because China is facing a debt bomb at home: trillions of dollars owed by local governments, their mostly off-the-books financial affiliates, and real estate developers.
China owns roughly 384,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the Department of Agriculture.
A sovereign default happens when a country's government fails to pay its debt obligations. A sovereign default can have serious economic consequences for the borrowing nation, making it harder and more expensive to borrow money in the future and pay its ongoing obligations.
The 6.3% growth in China's gross domestic product from April to June outpaced a 4.5% expansion in the previous quarter. The still robust growth is largely due to the economy growing just 0.4% a year earlier in April-June of 2022 amid strict lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities during COVID-19 outbreaks.