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China has critcised the "pitiful" and self-inflicted political deadlock in America over raising the country's borrowing limit, as premier Li Keqiang added his voice to concerns that the world’s biggest economy could default on its debt.
Mr Li told John Kerry, US secretary of state, that China was paying “great attention” to the issue of raising America's $16.7 trillion (£10.5 trillion) debt ceiling.
China is the largest foreign owner of US debt, holding more than $1.277 trillion in Treasury bills.
Mr Li's remarks, published by the state-owned Xinhua News Agency, follow comments by vice finance Minister Zhu Guangyao on Monday that "the clock is ticking" and any US default would have global repercussions.
A spokesman for the US government said Mr Kerry had made clear to Mr Li that President Barack Obama was "committed to resolving the issue."
Meanwhile, China Daily wrote in an editorial that the US should "stop manufacturing crises" and work towards striking a deal in Congress.
"Five years after the start of the global financial meltdown triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, it is pitiful that the US is now putting the fragile global recovery under renewed threat with its mind-boggling political infighting," the editorial said.
The paper, which is run by the Chinese government, added: "The astonishing failure of the US Congress to put national needs before their partisan interests has sparked fears among investors and governments around the world that maybe it is time to think about the unthinkable."
"US politicians can discuss, bicker and argue over government spending and economic growth. Kicking cans is one thing, but throwing caution to the wind is not a course of action worthy of the world's leading economy."
