Trump threatens: If you dare to sell U.S. bonds, I will retaliate! The world's attention is focused on China, and U.S. officials lament: This is the only exception!

According to CNN, Trump made a stern statement in Davos on the 22nd, saying that anyone who dares to sell U.S. bonds due to the Greenland dispute will face "full retaliation" from the U.S. The trigger was that a Danish institution called the "Academic Pension Fund" announced it would sell $100 million in U.S. bonds, citing concerns over the high U.S. fiscal deficit and unsustainable debt.

This amount is negligible in the global U.S. bond market—it's worth noting that the U.S. federal fiscal deficit in 2024 alone will exceed $1.7 trillion, with new debt accumulating at a rate of billions of dollars daily. Nevertheless, Trump immediately jumped in to say, "We hold all the cards," implying that if Europe follows suit and sells, it will face trade or other retaliatory measures.

As for China, which has been the most aggressive in reducing U.S. bonds, the U.S. is basically helpless. China once held over $1.3 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds, making it the largest holder of U.S. bonds in the world. However, over the past decade, China has continuously and steadily reduced its holdings of U.S. bonds, which are now about $700 billion.

Therefore, when the U.S. warning of "retaliation" echoed over Davos, the world's attention naturally turned to China—because only China has the capability, motivation, and means to shield itself from U.S. retaliation. The U.S. is well aware of this, which is why a White House official privately lamented: "China is the only exception." This point was vividly reflected in the interviews with Betts and Rutnik. Recently, there were even reports that the White House issued a gag order internally to avoid offending China.