Why China and Japan are praying the US won't default | CNN Business (2024)

FAQs

What country holds the most U.S. debt? ›

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. The second-largest holder is China, which owned $859 billion of US debt.

A default could shatter the $24 trillion market for Treasury debt, cause financial markets to freeze up and ignite an international crisis.

There's just a 2% possibility the U.S. government will default on its loans, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank, despite days of stalled-out negotiations.

China and Japan are the largest foreign investors in American government debt. Together they own $2 trillion — more than a quarter — of the $7.6 trillion in US Treasury securities held by foreign countries.

Japan has the highest percentage of national debt in the world at 259.43% of its annual GDP.

Eliminating the U.S. government's debt is a Herculean task that could take decades. In addition to obvious steps, such as hiking taxes and slashing spending, the government could take a number of other approaches, some of them unorthodox and even controversial. Below are some of these options.

The initial jobs losses that result from a potential debt ceiling breach will center in the construction and manufacturing sectors, Michelle Holder, a labor economist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told ABC News.

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.

China's demand for Treasurys helps keep U.S. interest rates low. It allows the U.S. Treasury to borrow more at low rates. Congress can then increase the federal spending that spurs U.S. economic growth.

Why is the US in so much debt? ›

Flashpoints that greatly contributed to the debt over the past 50 years include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic -- the latter two prompting sweeping stimulus measures from Congress that cost trillions of dollars.

Potential repercussions of reaching the ceiling include a downgrade by credit rating agencies, increased borrowing costs for businesses and homeowners alike, and a dropoff in consumer confidence that could shock the United States' financial market and tip its economy—and the world's—into immediate recession.

For a long time, the biggest holder of U.S. debt was China. But did you know that in late 2016, Japan overtook China as the biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt? Japan and China are, by far, the two biggest holders of U.S. debt – but the top five is filled with countries that you might not expect.

At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.

A flurry of big spending packages and ballooning social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have left Japan with a debt pile 263% the size of its economy - double the ratio for the United States and the highest among major economies.

A nation saddled with debt will have less to invest in its own future. Rising debt means fewer economic opportunities for Americans. Rising debt reduces business investment and slows economic growth. It also increases expectations of higher rates of inflation and erosion of confidence in the U.S. dollar.

Failing to increase the debt limit would have catastrophic economic consequences. It would cause the government to default on its legal obligations – an unprecedented event in American history.

When was the last time the US was not in debt? ›

When was the last time the U.S. was debt free? January 1835 was the first and only time all of the government's interest-bearing debt was paid off, according to the Treasury Department.

The Fed tries to influence the supply of money in the economy to promote noninflationary growth. Unless there is an increase in economic activity commensurate with the amount of money that is created, printing money to pay off the debt would make inflation worse.

States With the Least Debt in 2020

Mountain states, such as Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming made the top-10 list, as did upper Midwest states like Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Alaska takes the No. 1 spot, with a tiny debt ratio of only 14.2%.

Answer and Explanation: If everyone stopped getting in debt and paid off all their credit cards, saved for everything and spent what they earned this will increase the savings excessively which will decrease the circulation of money in the economy.

The federal government borrows money from the public by issuing securities—bills, notes, and bonds—through the Treasury. Treasury securities are attractive to investors because they are: Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Offered in a wide range of maturities.

For the fourth quarter of 2019, total wealth in the U.S. was $111.04 trillion.

Therefore, China's national debt has surged almost three times that of the United States in the past 12 months. In the third spot, Japan has a national debt of $13.36 trillion, indicating a drop of $1.49 trillion YoY.

That means tamping down on excess spending, making a budget, and shoring up emergency savings to cover at least three months of living expenses. Since a debt default would likely send interest rates soaring, any credit card debt you're saddled with may soon cost you more.

You can ask for an inaccurate default record to be updated or removed by raising a credit report dispute. Here's how to do this: Get your credit report to see the default entry. Get in touch to tell us how and why it should be changed.

Countries defaulting on their debts is rare. But it does happen. The most common causes of sovereign defaults include economic stagnation, political instability, and financial mismanagement.

How much does Russia owe the US? ›

How much does Russia owe? About $40 billion US in foreign bonds, about half of that to foreigners. Before the start of the war, Russia had around $640 billion US in foreign currency and gold reserves, much of which was held overseas and is now frozen.

If China (or any other nation having a trade surplus with the U.S.) stops buying U.S. Treasuries or even starts dumping its U.S. forex reserves, its trade surplus would become a trade deficit—something which no export-oriented economy would want, as they would be worse off as a result.

The biggest effect of a broad scale dump of US Treasuries by China would be that China would actually export fewer goods to the United States. Overall, foreign countries each make up a relatively small proportion of U.S. debt-holders.

Fewer than one quarter of American households live debt-free.

The debt ceiling had been increased multiple times since the 2013 debt ceiling standoff, all without budgetary preconditions attached; the most recent increase was in December 2021.

After weeks of political impasse, tense negotiations and mounting economic anxiety, the Senate gave final approval on Thursday night to bipartisan legislation suspending the debt limit and imposing new spending caps, sending it to President Biden and ending the possibility of a calamitous government default.

At the end of FY 2023 federal debt is “guesstimated” to amount to $32.69 trillion. Thus far, on 2023-06-08, the federal debt is $31.92 trillion. See Coronavirus Update page. Click for federal debt from 1960 to present.

Foreign holders of United States treasury debt

Of the total 7.4 trillion held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 859.4 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities.

The French “Commercial” Debt

The total “commercial” debt owed by France to the United States was given by M. Clémentel as $609,357,000.

Who does Mexico owe money to? ›

dynamic and g rowing Mexico will be able THE CURRENT DILEMMA Of Mexico's $98 billion foreign debt, nearly $75 billion is owed to commercial banks, with U.S. banks holding about one-third of the IOUs. The rest is owed to other banks worldwide.

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.

This has turned China into the world's largest official creditor — surpassing traditional, official lenders such as the World Bank, the IMF, or all OECD creditor governments combined. Despite the large size of China's overseas lending boom, no official data exists on the resulting debt flows and stocks.

Which countries hold the most US debt? Over the past 20 years, Japan and China have owned more US Treasuries than any other foreign nation.

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. The second-largest holder is China, which owned $859 billion of US debt.

As of September 30, 2022: More than three-fourths of the federal government's total assets ($5.0 trillion) consist of: 1) $877.8 billion in cash and monetary assets; 2) $406.9 billion in inventory and related property; 3) $1.4 trillion in net loans receivable (primarily student loans); and 4) $1.2 trillion in net PP&E.

The United States has the world's highest national debt at $31.4 trillion. Global debt currently stands at $305 trillion, $45 trillion higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) – a global association of the financial industry.

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.

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.

To pay back one million dollars, at a rate of one dollar per second, would take you 11.5 days. To pay back one billion dollars, at a rate of one dollar per second, would take you 32 years. To pay back one trillion dollars, at a rate of one dollar per second, would take you 31,688 years.

What country is not in debt? ›

Learning about Countries and Their Debt

The best example can be taken from Hong Kong (it is a one of the debt free countries), whose economy has the least debt to GDP ratio. It is an almost debt free country. It has a well-regulated financial system and large foreign reserves.

Many people believe that much of the U.S. national debt is owed to foreign countries like China and Japan, but the truth is that most of it is owed to Social Security and pension funds right here in the U.S. This means that U.S. citizens own most of the national debt.

If the China bloc disposes of net foreign assets amounting to more than 20% of GDP by offloading US bloc bonds over 10 years, the IMF finds that the China bloc's domestic interest rates would fall by four basis points.

At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.

Who owns China debt? Most of China's local government debt, one of the most regular issuers of domestic debt, is held by state-owned or state-controlled financial institutions. For decades, China's local governments have relied on off balance sheet borrowing through local government financing vehicles (LGFVs).

China owns and controls almost 192,000 acres of farmland right here in the United States. To be clear, it's not a huge percentage of our total farm acreage by any stretch. According to the FDA, there are more than 35 million acres of farmland in the U.S. which are owned by foreign investors.

A default on U.S. debt could trigger a worldwide recession and upend stock markets in addition to wreaking havoc in Americans' financial lives.

A debt doesn't generally expire or disappear until its paid, but in many states, there may be a time limit on how long creditors or debt collectors can use legal action to collect a debt.