WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- China reduced its holding of U.S. Treasury securities in January after adding 9.1 billion U.S. dollars in the previous month, the latest data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed on Wednesday.

China shed its treasuries holding by 7.3 billion U.S. dollars in January, with the total holding down to 1.0511 trillion U.S. dollars.

China's central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan said recently that Chinese currency, the yuan, will stabilize this year amid a firming economy and global confidence in the country's growth prospects. He also reiterated that the fall in China's foreign exchange reserve is a normal phenomenon.

Japan, which overtakes China as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries in October, increased its holding by 11.7 billion dollars to 1.1025 trillion dollars in January.

By the end of January, overall foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities dropped to 5.9561 trillion U.S. dollars from December's 6.0039 trillion dollars.