Chinese holdings of US debt ticked up in July for the first time since April, the Treasury Department said Thursday. China remained the largest holder of US debt, stashing away around 847 billion dollars worth, but was closely followed by Japan which held 821 billion dollars -- the narrowest gap between the two countries in at least a year. Under fierce political scrutiny China has steadily been reducing its holdings of US bonds, which stood at 940 billion dollars in July last year. 