# How much of China's debt does US bond holders have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-chinas-debt-does-us-bond-holders-have/918006 "2020-08-13T16:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-chinas-debt-does-us-bond-holders-have/918006/1 "2020-08-13T16:47:30Z")
I was watching a video and one thing that was brought up was a huge amount of bonds (debt) that US bond holders have from China. Of course, when I google this I get all about how much debt China has wrt US bonds. Does anyone know how much of this US bond holders have? Supposedly it’s over a trillion dollars, but this is the first I’ve heard of it (I guess it’s not big surprise as most countries presumably issue bonds that people or governments buy). As a bonus question, does China actually pay on this debt? Again, in the video there was some question as to whether the Chinese government was paying on the debt properly, at least to US bond holders, but I wouldn’t think they could get away with not paying…isn’t that how your national credit tanks if you don’t pay on it? I know it is always a worry when it’s brought up about the US paying on our various bond and treasury instruments. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-chinas-debt-does-us-bond-holders-have/918006/2 "2020-08-13T17:18:38Z")
China’s total debt to foreign countries is only about US$2 trillion, with approximately 80% of that debt denominated in US$, and most of the remainder split between Euros and Yen. The bigger problem is that China’s debt is greater than 300% of their GDP. Comparatively, the US debt:GDP is around 100%. Majority of the China debt is held by local investors such as commercial banks, bond investors etc. Only about US$300 million of china bonds are held by foreign investors, which are comprised primarily by wealth managers, mutual funds, family offices, etc. Yes, China services its debt otherwise it would lose its bond rating and the price of those bonds would plummet. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-chinas-debt-does-us-bond-holders-have/918006/3 "2020-08-13T17:24:01Z")
Googling, I found [this article](https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/historic-chinese-bonds-trump-leverage-beijing) from Fox Business about how something called the American Bondholder Foundation holds $1.6 trillion in Chinese bonds issued by the Republic of China starting in 1912. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-chinas-debt-does-us-bond-holders-have/918006/4 "2020-08-13T17:38:43Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The bigger problem is that China’s debt is greater than 300% of their GDP. Comparatively, the US debt:GDP is around 100%. No, this is wrong. You are citing only government debt for the U.S. vs recent estimates of _total_ debt (public and private) for China. Government debt in the U.S. is a little over 100% of GDP; government debt in China is around 50% of GDP. > **[National debt of China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_China)** > > The national debt\[note 1\] (or government debt) of the People's Republic of China is the total amount of money owed by the central government, local governments, government branches and state organizations of China. Standard & Poor's Global Ratings has stated Chinese local governments may have an additional CN¥ 40 trillion ($5.8 trillion) in off-balance sheet debt. Furthermore, debt owed by state-owned industrial firms is another 74% of GDP according to the International Monetary Fund. The The I... The ~300% number in China that has been in the headlines recently is total debt, public and private. Private debt in the U.S. is around 200% of GDP, which when added to Federal debt of 100% puts total U.S. debt at a similar ~300%. > **[United States Private Debt to GDP](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/private-debt-to-gdp)** > > Private Debt to GDP in the United States decreased to 217.80 percent in 2022 from 223.30 percent in 2021. United States Private Debt to GDP - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on February of 2024. But trying to quantify total debt in a meaningful and comparable way is extremely difficult.