China retains top spot in latest revision of foreign ownership of Treasury debt

China still No. 1 foreign holder of Treasury debt

WASHINGTON — The government’s latest accounting of holdings of Treasury securities shows China still in first place as the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt.

The Treasury Department said Friday that China’s holdings at the end of December stood at $894.8 billion, exactly the same amount it reported in a preliminary benchmark revision of the data in February.

That revision returned China to first place, a spot it appeared to have lost to Japan before the data was revised. Japan’s holdings in the latest update stood at $765.7 billion in December, $3.1 billion lower than the $768.8 billion reported in February.