China will continue to sell U.S. Treasuries in the future, says Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund.
China will unload more debt as the “euro scare” continues, he said.
The government reported that appetite for Treasuries declined by the largest amount in December as China reduced its allocation by $34.2 billion to $755.4 billion. Japan made a similar move and lowered its amount by $11.5 billion to $768.8 billion.
“I am surprised China has not dropped more,” Rogers told CNBC.
The United States should be concerned about this change in investments, he said.
“The U.S. should be worried about everyone lightening up – not just China,” Rogers said.
Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, said the paring back is not a concern, CNBC reported.
"The truth is that these numbers fluctuate and that there's a wide range of holders of Treasury debt. ... What's been very clear from the market responses over the last two years is that the United States is seen as a major source of quality and a place people run to when they're uncertain," he said.
Other analysts said the amount of U.S. government debt held by the Chinese is likely to be a larger amount since they also buy anonymously via banks in Switzerland, Britain and other countries, the Associated Press reported.
"We do not believe that the Chinese are dumping Treasuries. What they are doing is diversifying the channels through which they make these purchases so that it is much more difficult for the market to ascertain what they are doing,” said Arthur Kroeber, managing director of GaveKal Dragonomics, a Beijing research firm.
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