Standard & Poor's announced Friday it affirmed the sovereign rating of People's Republic Of China with a stable outlook.
China's long-term sovereign credit rating was affirmed at 'A+' and its short-term rating was confirmed at 'A-1', according to a statement by the rating agency.
'The stable outlook reflects our view that China will maintain its robust headline GDP growth and improved fiscal performance in the next three to four years,' the statement said.
Chinese economy expanded by 6.9 percent last year, and the agency said it estimates it to grow by 6.5 percent in 2018 and 6.3 percent in 2019.
However, the rising level of credit could be an issue for the country, according to the agency.
'A downgrade could ensue if we see a higher likelihood that China will ease its efforts to stem rising financial risk and allow higher credit growth to support economic expansion in a manner that is unsustainable in the longer term,' S&P said.
'We expect such a trend would weaken the Chinese economy's resilience to shocks, limit the government's policy options, and increase the likelihood of a sharper decline in the trend growth rate,' it added.
The agency said China's rating could be raised if the country's credit growth slows significantly, and it is sustained below the current rates, while real GDP growth remains healthy.
'In this scenario, we believe risks to financial stability and medium-term growth prospects will lessen,' S&P said.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr