S&P affirms China's sovereign credit rating, validating economic resilience

S&P Global Ratings' decision to maintain "A+" long-term and "A-1" short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on China reflects the rating agency's recognition of the resilience and development prospects of China's macro economy, while also demonstrating the independence and professionalism of its rating team, said an official of the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

The remarks came after S&P Global Ratings affirmed unsolicited "A+" long-term and "A-1" short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on China. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable, it said.

"The stable outlook on the long-term rating reflects our view that the Chinese economy will return to self-sustaining growth of above 4 percent over the next few years, paving the way for smaller annual increases in net general government debt," the rating agency said.

The move came against the background that rating agencies Moody's and Fitch had downgraded outlook on China' sovereign rating.

When S&P Global Ratings' team came to China for a review, they conducted in-depth and detailed communication with relevant departments of the Chinese government, think tanks and market institutions, and carried out research and discussions in relevant localities, which provided support for an objective assessment of China's sovereign credit status, the official said.

"As S&P Global Ratings said, China's economy will continue to maintain stable growth in the future as macro policies take effect, although facing some problems and challenges," the official said.

"China has multiple advantages, such as a large market size, strong endogenous vitality, solid development foundation, rapid development of new momentum and efficient supplies of various resources, in addition to the continuous optimization of macro-adjustment policies by the Chinese government to strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments.

"That will further enhance endogenous development strength and consolidate and enhance the positive momentum of economic recovery. Recently, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have successively raised their forecast on China's economic growth, which strongly supports the above views.

"We hope international rating agencies will come to China more often, take visits and have more in-depth understanding of China, thereby assessing China's economic development potential and sovereign credit status in a more comprehensive, dialectical and development manner."

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn