Money

No politics in China's sell-off of Japanese debt: paper

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-11 16:08

China's sell-off of Japanese debt in August reflects Beijing's determination to better manage its foreign exchange reserves and had nothing to do with politics, Shanghai Securities News reported on Oct 11.

Chinese investors sold a record 2.0 trillion yen ($24.4 billion) in short-term Japanese bills in August, nearly reversing its hefty accumulation in the previous seven months.

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Observers were surprised by the apparent about-turn, having previously viewed China's purchases of Japanese debt as an indication of its greater diversification of foreign exchange reserves.

There was nothing unusual about the flows in either direction, according to the newspaper.

"In our investment activities, we always pay close attention to and analyze all kinds of fluctuations," the?newspaper quoted?an unnamed official from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange as saying.

"We continuously conduct operations to dynamically adjust and perfect (our investments). A political explanation is not necessary," the official said.