China boosts US treasury holdings to $1.22trl

China, the United State's biggest creditor, increased its holdings of U.S. treasury bonds by 8.7 billion yuan in February, boosting the total to 1.223 trillion yuan, the U.S. Treasury said on Monday.

While February's increase makes China's holding the most in 15 months, No.2 Japan sold U.S. debt for a fourth consecutive month. Data from U.S. Treasury Department showed that Japan's holdings dipped 6.8 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.6 percent, to 1.097 trillion, the lowest since April 2012.

Overall, total demand for U.S. Treasury securities rose to another record level at $5.6 trillion in February, despite ongoing concerns over how much budget cuts and new taxes will undermine the U.S. recovery.