S&P affirms China rating; flags risk to growth from coronavirus, tensions with US

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Credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings on Monday affirmed China's sovereign credit ratings at 'A+/A-1' with a stable outlook, amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

S&P said China is likely to maintain above-average economic growth relative to other middle-income economies in the next few years.

However, it said that the growth is likely to come under pressure from the coronavirus outbreak, efforts to restructure the Chinese economy and US-China tensions.

The agency noted that it does not expect US-China relations to normalize in the foreseeable future.

"We expect per capita real GDP growth to average 5.5% annually in 2021-2023, as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 shock", S&P said on Monday.