Economist says China’s overseas assets at risk as trade war hits boiling point

Yu Yongding, a former central bank adviser, says Beijing’s foreign holdings could become another battleground in the US-China trade war

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Outspoken Chinese economist Yu Yongding has warned of the precarity of Beijing’s overseas assets amid a heated trade war with the US. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:30pm, 11 Apr 2025

A former adviser to China’s central bank has voiced grave concerns over the safety of the country’s overseas assets, and urged authorities to make necessary preparations in the wake of unprecedented tariff hikes from US President Donald Trump that could push the rivalry between the world’s two largest economies into the financial sector.

The warning from Yu Yongding, a senior economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), came at a forum in Beijing on Wednesday, when Trump had raised new import duties to 84 per cent.

Since then, tariffs have spiked to an effective 156 per cent after factoring in rates from before Trump took office in January, with no sign of any drawdown.

“The US has spared no efforts in weaponising the US dollar,” Yu said.

“Since the trade war is escalating, I am deeply concerned that the conflict could extend to China’s overseas assets.”

Yu has been outspoken in his advocacy for the reduction of China’s US Treasury bill holdings and has advised Beijing to stay alert for any attempts to use the country’s foreign assets against it, especially after the seizure of Russian assets following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.