The US Federal Deficit is always in the news - and when Chinese premier Hu Jintao arrives to a lavish reception at the White House, he comes as bigger lender to the developing world than the World Bank.

And last year, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, said the US is pursuing a policy of weakening its currency.

In the recent past, China has defended its investment in US Treasury bonds. Meanwhile, there is concern that its position as the biggest investor in US debt may become political as well as economic.

Treasury bonds are 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.

Previously, China has expressed concern over the security of its vast United States treasury holdings and premier Wen Jiabao has urged Washington to safeguard their value.

Take a look, download the spreadsheet and let us know what you can do with the data.

Data summary

MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES $bn at end of period. Click heading to sort table. Download this data Country Oct 2010. Oct 2009. Oct 2008. % change, Oct 2008-Oct 2010 China, Mainland 906.8 938.3 684.1 32.6 Japan 877.4 742.9 629.6 39.4 United Kingdom 477.6 105.7 133.2 258.6 Oil Exporters 213.9 209 176.7 21.1 All Other 161 158 149.1 8.0 Brazil 177.6 164.9 141 26.0 Carib Bnkng Ctrs 133.7 114 203.5 -34.3 Hong Kong 139.2 137.8 69.8 99.4 Taiwan 131.2 115.6 65.9 99.1 Russia 131.6 145.9 110.8 18.8 Switzerland 101.3 85.2 62 63.4 Canada 125.2 44.8 14 794.3 Luxembourg 78.5 79.5 100.8 -22.1 Thailand 66.2 28 34 94.7 Germany 60.1 47.9 53.7 11.9 Singapore 63.6 36.3 34 87.1 Ireland 41.4 42.6 35.1 17.9 Korea, South 41.1 43.3 36.2 13.5 India 41.1 35.8 18.3 124.6 Mexico 34.9 26.5 32.2 8.4 France 35.1 29.1 20.5 71.2 Belgium 15.7 16.9 15.8 -0.6 Egypt 34.9 14.3 16.7 109.0 Turkey 27.6 30.3 27.9 -1.1 Poland 26.3 21.9 Italy 21 21.6 15.3 37.3 Norway 18.7 7.3 11.5 62.6 Netherlands 14.6 20.5 15.7 -7.0 Colombia 17.3 18.3 11.3 53.1 Israel 17.9 14.5 12.4 44.4 Sweden 15 15.3 13.5 11.1 Philippines 12.9 11.4 12.1 6.6 Chile 13.6 12.4 15 -9.3 Australia 11.8 12.8 Malaysia 11.6 11.7 8.6 34.9 Spain 13.1 Grand Total 4310.2 3573.1 2980.3 44.62

DATA: Foreign owners of US treasury securities

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