| In September 2007, after a decade of structural reform of the banking sector, the Chinese government accepted the Ministry of Finance’s proposal to establish a new sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), to diversify these vast foreign reserve holdings ($1.4 trillion in September 2007; $4 trillion as of June 2014) in investments which would potentially yield a much higher income than that guaranteed by U.S. Treasury bonds.
Until 2007, China was emulating Middle Eastern oil producers which recycled their “petrodollars” in dollar-based assets and securities, particularly by investing in U.S. Treasury Bills. CIC is an exception to most of the global family of sovereign wealth funds. Unlike those of other countries, CIC does not have free and direct access to the country’s currency reserves..............................................Full Article: Source
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