BEIJING - China has become the world's second largest bond market after the United States, the latest statistics showed.

Overseas institutions owned 1.88 trillion yuan (about $273 billion) worth of Chinese bonds at the end of May, according to the Shanghai Clearing House and the China Central Depository & Clearing Co.

Global investors continued to pile into Chinese bonds, adding a net 52.2 billion yuan in May.

Apart from bonds, overseas institutions have also been buying up Chinese shares and funds over the recent years. They held $444.8 billion worth of Chinese financial assets at the end of last year, more than doubling the amount at the end of 2014, according the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

During the first quarter of the year, overseas institutions bought a net 9.5 billion dollars of Chinese bonds, marking sharp quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year increases.