China’s holdings of US Treasuries have fallen to the lowest level since August 2008, amid the growing divergence between the world’s two largest economies, the Financial Times (FT) reported on 17 September.

The value of US government debt held by Chinese investors fell to $618 billion in July, according to data released by the US Treasury.

At its height in November 2013, China held more than $1.3 trillion in US Treasury securities, which finance US government spending.

China built a large position in US sovereign debt in recent decades by investing proceeds from its massive trade surplus. Investing its foreign currency revenues abroad helped keep the value of the yuan low and Chinese exports competitive.

At the same time, investments in US treasuries by China and other countries helped the US run huge fiscal deficits.

However, China and others have begun diversifying into other assets, including gold, US Agency bonds, and stocks.

Agency bonds are mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the US government that typically pay higher interest rates than treasuries.

China’s falling US Treasury holdings were part of “a global trend of diversification into gold … and agency bonds, as well as other assets like equities, especially with the AI boom,” said Wei Li, head of multi-asset investments for BNP Paribas Securities in China.

Beijing accelerated its sales of US Treasury securities after Washington froze Russian assets following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, fearing the US could take similar action against China.

China’s shift has not been in isolation. Foreign investors now purchase more US stocks than US government bonds, thanks to higher stock market returns from the AI boom, which many view as a bubble.

Investors have also become concerned about the “risk-free” status of Treasuries as US debt climbs to levels increasingly viewed as unsustainable. The US national debt recently reached a record $40 trillion.

Foreign purchases of US stocks averaged 2.8 percent of US GDP in the first half of 2026, compared to two percent for Treasuries.

“China’s move is mostly showing the US they can dump Treasuries,” said Alicia García Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at investment bank Natixis.

China is now the third-largest holder of Treasuries behind Japan and the UK.

In contrast to China, the UK is expanding its holdings of US Treasuries, which recently reached $1 trillion for the first time.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/china-cuts-us-treasury-holdings-to-lowest-level-in-18-years

The Cradle

SEP 18, 2026

Washington barred Palestinian officials from New York for a second year, citing their support for ICC and ICJ cases against Israel

The UN General Assembly voted on 17 September to allow Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to address its annual session via prerecorded video after the US barred him and other senior Palestinian officials from traveling to New York for the second consecutive year.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates hailed the resolution, saying it “represents a breaking of the attempt to prevent Palestine’s participation” and vowed to keep pursuing statehood through “political, legal, and diplomatic channels. ”

The ministry said the address would still air by televised broadcast in its original slot, adding that the vote proved Palestinians would be heard and exposed the failure of efforts “to sideline Palestine and its cause.”

Abbas is expected to push for Palestinian state recognition, following recent decisions by the UK, France, Canada, and other western countries. He will also highlight the Israeli-created humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the spread of illegal Jewish settlements, and the increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Washington renewed visa sanctions on PA officials and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members, citing their support for genocide and war crimes cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel, along with what it called the PA’s failure to “reform.”

Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin denounced Washington’s move, warning that the restrictions “undermine peace and a two-state solution.”

The State Department accused the PA of violating US law by seeking international recognition without talks with Israel and providing social welfare payments to Palestinian prisoners and families of those killed by Israeli forces, a program called “pay to slay.”

Amnesty International demanded the decision be reversed, with senior director Erika Guevara Rosas calling it “a clear violation of the UN Headquarters Agreement” and accusing Washington of exploiting “its privilege as the host country of the UN to impose arbitrary restrictions” on access to the body.

No Israeli official faces any such US restrictions, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains wanted by the ICC for his leading role in the genocide in Gaza.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/un-to-allow-palestinian-authority-president-to-speak-via-video-after-us-ban

The advance of the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) across Yemen’s western coast and its seizure of the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait has heightened concerns in Israel about the ongoing crisis and the near-total shutdown at Israel’s Port of Eilat, Israeli media said on 17 September.

This shutdown at the port was caused by Yemen’s forces, intensifying in the years that followed 7 October and the launch of a Yemeni blockade and military campaign in support of Gaza, which included missile strikes and drone strikes on Israel and attacks on Israeli shipping.

“Even before the threat to Saudi oil routes prompted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to seek US assistance, the Houthis had already registered a significant strategic achievement against Israel by almost completely disrupting regular commercial shipping to the Port of Eilat,” wrote the Jerusalem Post.

Israeli media has, in the past, extensively reported on the devastating effects Yemen’s Gaza support blockade had on the Port of Eilat and Israel’s economy.

“Nearly three years have passed … and no solution remains. [Israel] has repeatedly struck Houthi targets in Yemen, the state has provided assistance to the port, and an alternative import route has been established through Aqaba. None of this has brought international shipping companies back to regular, direct sailings from the East to Eilat,” the new Israeli report added.

No Israeli cabinet decision has “defined” the restoration of shipping at the shuttered port as a “security and diplomatic objective,” according to Jerusalem Post.

The outlet calls the Yemeni seizure of Bab al-Mandab an “urgent strategic issue” for Saudi Arabia, but for Israel as well.

“Israel and Saudi Arabia now have parallel diplomatic and strategic interests concerning the same maritime route. From Israel’s perspective, Saudi Arabia’s predicament creates an opportunity that did not previously exist to the same extent: to harness a regional effort around Bab al-Mandab to restore shipping to Eilat as well,” it added.

The Jerusalem Post notes that Sanaa’s new positions allow the YAF to monitor movements and enhance their targeting of vessels.

A new Reuters report claimed Ansarallah told US officials that they would not hit US or Israeli ships, only Saudi ones.

Sanaa did not comment. The US State Department told Reuters it had no comment on the report.

The situation at Eilat Port has steadily worsened since Tel Aviv began the Gaza genocide.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported at the very start of this year that Eilat Port is “almost completely paralyzed.”

“Every morning, workers arrive at empty docks, ready and waiting, and the ships do not arrive,” Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

“The port’s revenues, which previously reached about $74 million a year, have dropped to almost zero,” the newspaper added in its January 2026 report.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/yemens-control-of-bab-al-mandab-strait-deepens-crisis-at-israels-eilat-port

The Cradle

Washington has banned Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas from entering the US and making a speech at the UN General Assembly, with Ramallah condemning the move as an “unjustified measure” in an official statement on 17 September.

The ban includes Abbas and other Palestinian officials. Washington said its decision was a result of the PA’s “failure to reform.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry statement expressed “rejection of the decision announced by the US State Department to extend restrictions on granting entry visas to officials in the Palestinian National Authority and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

It called it an “unjustified measure that contradicts efforts to restore confidence, develop Palestinian–American relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution.”

US President Donald Trump’s government took the same measure last year, barring Abbas and others from attending the UN General Assembly.

Washington, the EU, and other major powers have demanded sweeping reforms from the PA as part of Trump’s Gaza’s plan, which offers a potential “path” to Palestinian statehood but no concrete commitment whatsoever.

Israel categorically rejects any prospect of Palestinian statehood, and has barred a US-endorsed, PA-linked technocratic body from entering Gaza as part of the US plan for the strip.

On the ground, it is actively working to expand settlements in a way that destroys continuity between Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, and in a clear effort to split apart the lands that would form any future Palestinian state.

This is particularly the case with the E1 settlement project currently in motion.

Washington’s move coincides with Israeli media claims that PA-affiliated forces may be preparing an attack on Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

A late August Israeli report by Israel Hayom alleged that the PA buildup includes an arsenal of “anti-tank weapons” and other arms.

Palestinian forces have reportedly been undergoing training and receiving military support from Egypt over the past year for “post-war” efforts to administer the Gaza Strip – which is still being subjected to genocide by Israel.

However, for the most part, the PA and its security forces continue deep security coordination with Tel Aviv, and Ramallah has significantly aided Israeli operations against the resistance via crackdowns and arrest campaigns.

Some elements of the PA and its Fatah party – such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – remain committed to armed resistance against Israeli occupation.

Following the Hebrew media claims, Israeli War Minister Israel Katz threatened an “all-out war” against the occupied West Bank, warning not only Hamas and other resistance factions, but also the PA and its forces.

“If the security apparatuses of the PA and bodies associated with them launch, or we know for certain that they are about to launch, a 7 October-style terrorist attack against forces and Jewish settlements … Netanyahu and I instructed the [army] to prepare to launch an all-out war,” Katz threatened.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/ramallah-condemns-unjustified-us-decision-to-ban-pa-president-from-un-general-assembly