China is dumping U.S. Treasuries like it’s 2008 again, but at the same time, it’s stockpiling gold like there’s a global reset coming.
New data from the U.S. Treasury Department shows China’s holdings of American government debt dropped to $682.6 billion in November, down from $688.7 billion in October.
That’s the lowest since the global financial crisis, nearly two decades ago. It’s not a glitch. This is part of a clear shift in China’s strategy to pull away from U.S. exposure and load up on more gold and foreign stocks instead.
The shift comes while the U.S. government just wrapped up the longest shutdown in its history. It started on October 1 and lasted 43 days. President Donald Trump signed a funding bill on November 12 to reopen operations.
By the time the dust settled, total foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries hit a record $9.355 trillion, up from $9.243 trillion the month before. So while others were piling in, China was quietly pulling out.
Japan, UK, and Canada increase Treasury bets as China pulls back
Japan stayed in its usual spot as the top foreign holder of Treasuries, holding $1.202 trillion in November, its highest since July 2022. That’s 11 straight months of adding.
The United Kingdom, which hedge funds often use as a front for their U.S. debt exposure, also increased its stake to $888.5 billion, up 1.2% from October. Canada went even harder, boosting its holdings 13% to $472.2 billion. That’s a big bounce from the April low of $368.4 billion, back when Trump slapped Canada with new tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars.
Meanwhile, China has been hunting for shiny rocks. In central China, geologists struck what they’re calling a “superlarge” gold deposit, over 1,000 tons of gold, worth around $85.9 billion. The site is buried roughly 9,842 feet below the Wangu gold field in Hunan’s Pingjiang County.
According to the Hunan Geological Bureau, about 40 gold veins were identified in that area alone. Within a shallower 6,562-foot depth, 300 tons of that total gold reserve have already been confirmed.
Laizhou discovery boosts China’s total gold reserves even further
That wasn’t the only jackpot. In the eastern province of Shandong, off the coast of Laizhou in Yantai, China also confirmed new gold reserves that pushed the area’s total to more than 3,900 tons.
That’s roughly 26% of China’s entire known gold stash, based on figures reported by the South China Morning Post. Officials haven’t given exact tonnage for the new find yet, but the implication is clear: China wants more control over real assets, and it’s going hard on domestic mining to get there.
While China was selling, foreigners were on a buying spree. Treasury purchases hit $85.6 billion in November, a total reversal from the $60.1 billion outflow recorded in October.
Back in May, there was an even bigger rush, $147.4 billion in net Treasury inflows, the highest since August 2022. Foreigners also snapped up $92.2 billion in U.S. stocks during the same month, compared to $60.3 billion in October.
Altogether, the U.S. saw a $212 billion capital inflow in November. That came after October’s revised outflow of $22.5 billion. But don’t expect China to follow the crowd.
