More than a week into the partial US government shutdown, there's still no sign of an end to the stalemate. Meanwhile, as the United States confronts a looming deadline next week on raising the debt ceiling, its major creditors China and Japan are worried about the US ability to pay back. US president Barrack Obama has spoken on the issue, assuring creditors that America will pay.
China is the U.S. government’s largest creditor, holding 1.3 trillion dollars in US Treasury bonds, which makes China nervous of a possible US debt default.
In China’s first public response to the US debt ceiling issue, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao urged Washington on Monday to take decisive steps to avoid a debt crisis and ensure the safety of Chinese investments. He said the US should learn from the lessons of history, referring to a deadlock in 2011 that led to a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.