Today Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his worry about the security of Chinese investments in American debt. The US has taken hard hits from the global financial crisis and Beijing is naturally worried. Wen said:
“To be honest, I am a little bit worried and I would like to … call on the United States to honour its word and remain a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets.”
The US responded with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announcing: “There’s no safer investment in the world than in the United States.”
What will be interesting is to see how much and in which ways Beijing uses its influence over the $696 billion of US debt that it holds. Read more here.