China, the world’s largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, yesterday denied a media report saying it was reviewing its holdings of eurozone debt, calling the report “baseless.”
“The report is baseless,” China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on its Web site.
“China’s foreign exchange reserves [agency], as a responsible long-term investor, has always held a diversified investment strategy,” SAFE said. “The European market was and is one of the most important investment markets for [China’s] foreign exchange reserves and will remain so in the future.”
The Financial Times earlier reported that China was reviewing its eurozone debt holdings in view of the accelerating crisis in Europe, saying that SAFE officials had met with foreign bankers on the issue in Beijing in recent days.
The report, which did not cite any sources, said SAFE has expressed concern about its exposure to problems in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. SAFE holds an estimated US$630 billion of eurozone bonds in its reserves, the report said.
About 70 percent of China’s reserves are held in US dollar securities, but the composition and management of the funds controlled by SAFE are regarded as state secrets.
Analysts said the report was among reasons cited for the US stock market reversal Wednesday from strong gains chalked up earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 69.30 points, or 0.69 percent, at 9,974.45 — the first time the blue-chip index closed below the sensitive 10,000 level since Feb. 8.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from