SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 10 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said “it would not be surprising” if China was reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasuries, given the country’s likely efforts to support its currency.
“China sees downward pressure on its currency as a risk” that could trigger capital outflows, Yellen said in San Francisco after meetings with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
“We don’t know the extent to which they are intervening in support of their currency,” she said, because China does not publish that information, “but it would not be surprising if they are running down their Treasury holdings to some extent in order to support their currency.” (Reporting by David Lawder, Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)