China “Owns” the U.S.: Fact or Fiction?
Rebecca Graebner /
There is a common misconception that China “owns” the U.S by holding the majority of U.S. federal debt. Contrary to this belief, as a region, Asia owns only 20 percent of U.S. federal debt, with China holding less than 10 percent ($1.3 trillion) and Japan owning approximately 6 percent ($882 billion).
American citizens and now, unfortunately, the Federal Reserve are the primary holders of U.S. federal debt. The U.S. urgently needs to get its fiscal house in order. It has too much debt, period. The relatively minor share of it owned by China is not the problem.
The 2012 version of Key Asian Indicators: A Book of Charts is now available at heritage.org. Follow the link to access this helpful resource and get information on everything Asia—trends on political/security issues, data on Asia’s fastest growing economies, Asia’s top investors in the U.S. economy, and the real numbers on who owns the most U.S. Federal debt.
Asia is home to more than half the world’s population. Freedom and tyranny live side by side, as do economic opportunity and poverty. East and South Asia have some of the best places in the world to do business, but they also have some of the worst. Asia is home to some of the most unstable, dangerous nations in the world, and it is home to some of the most steady and reliable. It is also home to the only country in the world capable of emerging as a peer competitor for global American influence – the People’s Republic of China. Every year, The Heritage Foundation releases the chart book, illustrating the dynamism of the region.