Biden: U.S. has never defaulted on its debt and never will

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, on his visit to China, attempted to alleviate some of China's concerns about the possibility of the United States defaulting on its debt by pointing to the fact that the United States has never defaulted on its debt in the past and said it never would in the future. He also said that the 87% of all U.S. Government Debt is held by Americans and that the U.S. owns 69% of its treasury assets while China only owns 8%, so the U.S. has a vested interest in making sure that payments are made. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, China holds about $900 billion in U.S. debt and is therefore the U.S.'s largest foreign creditor. China's recent concern comes after the battle in Washington over raising the debt ceiling, which passed barely before the deadline.