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China's investments safe, US president says

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-16 07:36

US President Barack Obama on Saturday tried to reassure the country's creditors, especially China, that their investments are safe.

"There's a reason why even in the midst of this economic crisis you've seen actual increases in investment flows here into the United States," Obama said.

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"I think that not just the Chinese government, but every investor, can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States," he added.

Obama was apparently responding to Premier Wen Jiabao, who said on Friday he was concerned about the safety of the estimated $1 trillion China has invested in US government debt.

"Of course we are concerned about the security of our assets. To speak truthfully, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said. "I would like to call on the US to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."

Beijing is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, and Obama's administration wants the Chinese to continue buying its bonds to help pay for the $787 billion stimulus package.

US Vice-President Joe Biden on Saturday said he believed there were signs that the public's confidence is growing in the administration's ability to tackle the financial crisis.

"Consumer confidence is slightly up. The market is slightly up," Biden said. "It'll go down again, but the people are beginning to figure out that the president's got a plan and he believes we can work our way through this."

China Daily - AP