China now has direct access to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to buy U.S. government bonds, though "the buying amount is not significant," a source close to China's central bank told the Beijing-based Global Times.

While all other countries have to go through primary dealers on Wall Street to buy and sell U.S. bonds, China now only has to sell, not buy, through these brokers.

"The direct access is an acknowledgement of the critical importance of China to the U.S. ability to fund its deficits. It gives China more power in bidding without showing its hands to Wall Street banks and other potential competition," Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior economist at Crédit Agricole CIB told the Global Times.