China buys U.S. T-bonds directly

 　　BEIJING, May?23 (Xinhuanet) -- China now has direct access to the U.S. Department of the Treasury¹ to buy U.S. government bonds, though "the buying amount is not significant," a source close to the central bank told the Global Times yesterday.

　　China can now bypass Wall Street when buying US government debts, and it is the U.S. Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, Reuters reported Monday, citing the Treasury's documents.

　　While all the other countries have to go through primary dealers² on Wall Street to buy and sell U.S. bonds, China now only has to sell, not buy, through these brokers³, Reuters reported.

　　The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, has a direct computer link to the U.S. Treasury's bond auction⁴ system, and China used it to buy two-year notes in late June 2011, the report said.

　　"The situation is more or less the same (as what was reported)," the central bank source said. The two countries came up with the special arrangement after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were ordered to delist from the New York Stock Exchange in July 2010, the source said.

　　"The direct access is an acknowledgement of critical importance of China to the U.S.' ability to fund its deficits⁵. It gives China more power in bidding without showing its hands to Wall Street banks and other potential competition," Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior economist⁶ at Crédit Agricole CIB, told the Global Times yesterday.

　　China, which holds $1.2 trillion in U.S. Treasuries⁷, should not be "flattered" by the U.S. special treatment, said Tan Yaling, president of the China Forex Investment Research Institute.

　　"It is the US' strategy to use China's over $3 trillion foreign reserves to patch the holes in the U.S. economy, so of course they want to flatter us. But we don't have a clear, long-term forex investment strategy of our own," she noted⁸.

　　China once held up to $397.6 billion worth of debts issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Beijing Times reported in March 2009, citing Chinese Vice⁹ Premier¹⁰ Wang Qishan. The U.S. Treasury agreed to invest up to 200 billion U.S. dollars in the agencies to keep them afloat after the 2008 financial debacle.

　　China's large debt holding in the failing agencies created public concerns, and forced the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to issue an announcement in February 2011 claiming that China had never invested in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks.

　　"The direct access does not seem to have any material impact on the safety of China's investments in the U.S., but there may be improvement in terms of better transparency between the governments," said He Liping, a finance professor at Beijing Normal University.

　　The arrangement does not change the big picture of excessive concentration of Chinese reserves in U.S. Treasuries, Kowalczyk said. "If the US defaults, China will not enjoy any special protection of its investment."

　　Experts said that the key for ensuring the safety of China's foreign assets is diversification¹¹.

　　While Tan said China should buy more oil and gold, Wang Jianmao, an economics professor at China Europe International Business School, said the government should allow Chinese people to buy foreign companies' stocks.

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

2 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

3 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

4 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

11 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句