【英语中国】美参议院出新政 担心中国最大债权国地位

The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to require the Obama administration to examine the risks associated with foreign holdings of U.S. debt, a new sign of political concern about the nation's fiscal state and China's economic influence.

The Senate approved an amendment to a broader economic-recovery bill that would mandate the administration produce quarterly reports to Congress about the associated economic and national-security dangers.

The amendment would require reports on all foreign holdings of U.S. debt, both government and private, but it was targeted largely at China. The amendment warned the country's sizable holdings of U.S. debt 'could give China a tool with which China can try to manipulate domestic and foreign policymaking of the United States, including the United States relationship with Taiwan.'

China is currently the U.S.'s largest creditor, holding 10% of the $8.577 trillion in publicly held debt, according to the Treasury Department.

'It's the worst kept secret in the world that our deficit spending is being financed by foreign investors who may not always have our nation's best interests at heart,' said Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican who sponsored the amendment.

The amendment was approved by voice vote.

Republicans and a growing number of Democrats in Congress have been raising alarms about the nation's spending binge. Just last month, several fiscally conservative Democrats in the House forced party leaders to pare back a major economic bill, amid concern about the impact of the legislation on the budget deficit.

The national debt passed $13 trillion last week, while the deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, is on track to reach $1.5 trillion.

Among other things, the amendment would require the administration report quarterly to Congress on foreign holdings of U.S. debt, and to make assessments of the risks posed by those holdings. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, would also be directed to report annually on those risks.

If the administration deemed the economic risks had reached an 'unacceptable level,' the president would be required to lay out for Congress a plan to bring the debt under control, including a timetable.

After China, Japan is the next biggest U.S. creditor.

美国参议院(U.S. Senate)周三举行投票，要求奥巴马政府调查与外国持有美国国债相关的风险问题，这是对美国财政状况和中国经济影响力产生政治担忧的新迹象。

参议院通过了一项经济复苏议案修正案，要求政府就相关经济和国家安全风险问题向国会递交季度性报告。

该修正案要求就外国持有美国国债的所有情况提交报告，包括政府和私人持有，不过它在很大程度上是针对中国的。此修正案警告说，中国持有的大量美国国债将“赋予中国一个可操控美国国内和外交决策的工具，包括美国与台湾的关系。”

美国财政部的数据显示，中国目前是美国的头号债权国，持有美国已发行8.577万亿美元国债的10%。

支持上述修正案的得克萨斯州共和党人、参议员克林(John Cornyn)说，我们的赤字支出正由一些或许不总是关心美国核心利益的外国投资者来提供财政支持，这是世界上最心照不宣的秘密。

此修正案以口头表决的方式通过。

在国会，共和党人以及越来越多的民主党人对美国的大笔支出问题提出警告。就在上个月，众议院几位在财政问题上较为保守的民主党人迫使该党领袖削减了一项重要经济法案，因为担心该法案对预算赤字产生影响。

美国的国家债务上周超过了13万亿美元，与此同时，于9月30日结束的当前财年，其赤字规模正向1.5万亿美元迈进。

此外，修正案还要求政府就外国持有美国国债的情况向国会递交季度性报告，以及对这些持债情况所产生的风险进行评估。国会调查机构美国政府问责局(Government Accountability Office)也被要求就上述风险提交年度报告。

如果政府认为经济风险达到“无法接受的程度”，将要求总统向国会拟订一个包括制定时间表在内的债务控制计划。

日本是中国以外的美国第二大债权国。