China has become the holder of the most South Korean government bonds among foreign countries for the first time.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service(FSS) said Thursday that China held bonds worth 17-point-six trillion won, or about 15 billion U.S. dollars. 

Chinese holdings are larger than those of the U.S., which possesses South Korean bonds worth about 14-point-four trillion won. 

As recently as January this year, the U.S. had more South Korean government bonds than China, by an edge worth about 600 billion won. But in February, the U.S. sold such bonds worth about three-point-six trillion won while China bought South Korean government bonds equivalent to about 74 billion won. 

The U.S. holds the most South Korean stocks in terms of value, equaling about 161-point-seven trillion won. The U.K., Singapore and Luxembourg followed. China holds about eight-point-four trillion won worth of South Korean stocks, making it eleventh on the list.