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# China and U.S. Debt: The Great Wallet of China
- URL: https://ivn.us/china-and-u-s-debt-the-great-wallet-of-china/
- Published: 2012-08-08T17:30:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:29:19.000Z
- Author: Jane Susskind
- Tags: News

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/02/Great-Wallet-of-China-1.jpg "Great-Wallet-of-China-1")

As of July 2012, the United States combined public debt reached $15.93 trillion. We found this [visualization](http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/us%5Fdebt/us%5Fdebt.html?ref=ivn.us) to help put that number into perspective.

Of that number, around 50% is owned by foreign investors. China is the largest single holder of U.S. government debt, owning around $1.2 trillion in bills, notes, and bonds.

> *In total, China owns about 8 percent of publicly held U.S. debt. Of all the holders of U.S. debt China is the third-largest, behind only the Social Security Trust Fund's holdings of nearly $3 trillion and the Federal Reserve's nearly $2 trillion holdings in Treasury investments, purchased as part of its quantitative easing program to boost the economy. - [US Government Info](http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/ss/How-Much-US-Debt-Does-China-Own.htm?ref=ivn.us)*

While this political cartoon makes light of the situation, what are the dangers of U.S. debt, foreign investors, and raising the debt ceiling?