Britain takes China’s place as America’s second-biggest overseas creditor as Beijing pushes to diversify foreign exchange reserves.

China cut its stockpile of US Treasuries in March, before its trade war with US President Donald Trump escalated, stepping aside from its position as the No 2 overseas holder.

As foreign holdings rose for a third straight month to an all-time peak of US$9.05 trillion in March, China’s stockpile slid to US$765.4 billion, down US$18.9 billion from the previous month and ending an upswing in holdings in the January-February period, according to data released by the US Department of the Treasury on Friday.