# What would happen if the US declared its debt to China null and void

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-the-us-declared-its-debt-to-china-null-and-void/591817>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 7, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-the-us-declared-its-debt-to-china-null-and-void/591817 "2011-08-07T12:32:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jamie6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jamie6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamie6)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-the-us-declared-its-debt-to-china-null-and-void/591817/21 "2011-08-09T13:23:26Z")

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> [@rbroome](#):
>
> interesting point. I wonder what happened at the beginning of WWII? I am sure at least a few US debts were held by Germany and or Japan. And the other way around. If not by Gov’ts, then by individuals. Were they canceled? Paid? held in escrow?  
> I wonder how many US treasury bonds Iran holds today. I bet it is quite a bit.

I’ve seen a fact stated on the History Channel a few times that during WWII the U.S. paid Germany for a patent (patents?) every time we made a Thompson machine gun. A quick search didn’t find anything, however.

Not exactly the same thing; just an interesting tidbit. You certainly think they’d stop paying to use another country’s patents if they’re at war with them.

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