On the afternoon of August 1, 2011, Eastern Time, Gary Locke, accompanied by his family, appeared at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America. Under the supervision of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, he placed his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office as the Ambassador of the United States of America to the People's Republic of China, becoming the first Chinese-American ambassador to China in U.S. history.
At 9:29 p.m. on the 12th, the new "head" of the U.S. Embassy in China, Gary Locke, arrived in Beijing with his family to officially assume his post.
On the 14th, the new U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, appeared at the ambassador's residence in Beijing with his wife and children. In his inaugural address, Locke was enthusiastic yet cautious. Regarding concerns over the safety of China's U.S. debt assets, Locke stated that he believes China's investment in U.S. dollar assets is safe, and that both the U.S. government and President Obama are committed to rectifying domestic fiscal issues.
On August 6, Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating from "AAA" to "AA+" with a "negative" outlook—the first time in U.S. history that it has lost its AAA rating. As the largest holder of U.S. debt, Chinese public opinion has recently revealed a sense of anxiety regarding the safety of assets held in the United States.
In response, Locke stated that President Obama and Congress have already developed a comprehensive roadmap for the U.S. fiscal situation, and that even with the downgrade of U.S. Treasury bonds, there are still buyers purchasing them. "This means that investing in the U.S. is safe. Furthermore, although the U.S. economy is facing adjustments, it remains strong," he said.
On August 10, the U.S. Treasury Department issued $24 billion in ten-year Treasury bonds, which saw a record-low yield of 2.14%, yet they were quickly sold out.
Currently, according to market estimates, China holds approximately $1.15 trillion in U.S. debt, accounting for 26% of all foreign-held U.S. debt, with the remainder held by Japan (20%), the United Kingdom (8%), Brazil (5%), and Russia (3%).
