The Chinese own roughly 739 Billion or 24% of the U.S. Foreign Debt. What this means is that Uncle Sam is part Chinese. The Chinese not only finance our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also help keep the American Economy going. The U.S. Debt to China will only increase with each coming year. This is just something new to think about as we approach 2012.
From Wiki-
Foreign Ownership
A traditional defense of the national debt is that Americans "owe the debt to themselves", but that is becoming increasingly less accurate. The US debt in the hands of foreign governments was 25% of the total in 2007,[21] virtually double the 1988 figure of 13%.[22] Despite the declining willingness of foreign investors to continue investing in US dollar denominated instruments as the US dollar fell in 2007,[23] the U.S. Treasury statistics indicate that, at the end of 2006, foreigners held 44% of federal debt held by the public.[24] About 66% of that 44% was held by the central banks of other countries, in particular the central banks of Japan and China. In May 2009, the US owed China $772 billion.[25] In total, lenders from Japan and China held 47% of the foreign-owned debt.[5] This exposure to potential financial or political risk should foreign banks stop buying Treasury securities or start selling them heavily was addressed in a recent report issued by the Bank of International Settlements which stated, "'Foreign investors in U.S. dollar assets have seen big losses measured in dollars, and still bigger ones measured in their own currency. While unlikely, indeed highly improbable for public sector investors, a sudden rush for the exits cannot be ruled out completely."[26]
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