Something has been on my mind lately. The US national debt has already surpassed 35 trillion dollars and keeps growing. For comparison, that’s over 120% of the United States’ annual GDP. If you divide it among every American, it comes out to about 100 thousand dollars per person. Crazy, right?

I always thought America was an economic superpower that could afford anything. Turns out, over the past few years, the US government has been spending money like crazy. Infrastructure, social care, the military – everywhere you needed cash. And where do you get it from when your wallet is empty? Exactly, by borrowing from the whole world.

Here’s an interesting twist. China is the second-largest foreign holder of this debt – they own bonds worth about 771 billion dollars. That might sound like a huge sum, but it’s only 2 percent of the entire US public debt. Still, on the international financial market, that’s a lot. Everyone’s wondering what would happen if China suddenly sold everything.

If they did, the price of US bonds would fall, yields would rise, and the cost of financing for the US government would skyrocket. Sounds like a catastrophe, but wait. For China itself, that would be self-sabotage. They hold huge foreign exchange reserves, and if the dollar weakened, they would be among the main victims.

What interests me more is the trend of de-dollarization I’ve been observing for several years. Almost half of the countries in the world have started looking for alternatives to the dollar. BRICS countries are working on a new settlement system, China is promoting the yuan, and other economies are also seeking escape routes. Honestly, I don’t blame them. The United States has exploited dollar hegemony for decades to reap economic benefits. When the Fed printed money, it went to other countries, which took on debt. Then, when the Fed raised interest rates, capital fled back to the US, and other countries faced crises.

Latin America, Southeast Asia, recently Argentina and Turkey – everyone has experienced this cycle. That’s why now everyone wants to break free from this system.

Interestingly, all this affects us, ordinary people. When the US national debt grows, the government has to do something – either raise taxes or cut social spending. This directly hits low-income Americans. But that’s not all – instability in the US spreads to the entire global economy.

I’ve noticed that people have mixed feelings about this. Some worry about the future, others see opportunities for developing countries, and some just laugh at the whole situation. But everyone agrees on one thing – the status quo is changing.

My reflection? The US national debt is no longer just America’s problem. It’s a global problem. And although de-dollarization won’t happen overnight, the wave of change is unstoppable. China, as the largest developing country, plays a key role here. Every move they make impacts the entire structure of the global economy.

Anyway, instead of worrying about things we can’t influence, it’s better to focus on what we can control. Hard work, improving skills, and understanding what’s happening on the international stage – those are the most reliable investments.