China official: Beware large U.S. asset holdings (by MarketWatch)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- China should be wary of risks from "excessive" holdings of U.S. assets in case Washington decides to embark on a policy designed to weaken the U.S. dollar, a senior official of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in comments published Tuesday, according to a news report. "We must be alert of economic and political risks in excessive holdings of U.S. dollar assets," said Guan Tao, head of the international payment department at the agency, in an article published on the website of China Finance 40 Forum, a Beijing-based think tank, Reuters reported. The official said the United States has used expansionary fiscal and monetary policy to stimulate growth and "may find it hard to resist the policy temptation of weakening the dollar abroad and pushing up inflation at home." The article was later removed from the website, according to Reuters. The website said the article was removed at Guan's request. Guan told Reuters that the comments represented his personal view only. The dollar index (dxy) was down 0.5% at 73.594, while the euro (cur_eurusd) gained 0.5% versus the greenback to trade at $1.4666.