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Beijing • The U.S.'s biggest foreign creditor, China, said Monday it was concerned about the deadlock in Washington and urged all efforts to be made to avoid a default on the U.S. debt.
Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao called for "concrete measures" to raise the debt ceiling before the Oct. 17 deadline and to protect the safety of Chinese investments.
"The U.S. is the world's biggest economy and a major country issuing reserve currency. Safeguarding the debt is of vital importance to the economy of the U.S. and the world," Zhu was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. "This is the United States' responsibility."
China hopes the U.S. will address its economic problems, solve the debt ceiling dispute and "keep the recovery process in the U.S. and the world going," Zhu said.
China holds $1.277 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds, the most of any nation after Japan.