China is worried about its vast United States treasury holdings and premier Wen Jiabao has urged Washington to safeguard their value. This is how the US - and all governments for that matter - borrow money: they issue government securities, which other countries and institutions buy. So, the US national debt is owned predominantly by Asian economies. The US Treasury releases the figures on this - here they are in a more useable form.

DATA: Foreign owners of US treasury securities

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