Chinese ratings agency cuts US debt over political 'deficiencies'

BEIJING (AFP) -
A Chinese credit ratings firm has downgraded US debt, citing the political "deficiencies" and "factional rivalries" of the United States.

The move comes after China's own credit rating was cut by two US agencies -- Standard & Poor (S&P) and Moody's -- last year over concerns about the Asian country's growing debt.

The Dagong Global Credit Rating Company cited the massive tax cuts backed by President Donald Trump as a concern but it also zeroed in on the US political atmosphere in a report on Tuesday.

The firm downgraded both the local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings of the United States from A- to BBB+ and gave the world's largest economy a "negative outlook".

"Deficiencies in the current US political ecology make it difficult for the efficient administration of the federal government, so the national economic development derails from the right track," the agency said.

"Under the political ecology which is built by the factional rivalries, factional interests are prioritized, and it is hard for the government to focus on the management of the national economy and social development," it said.

http://www.france24.com/en/20180117-chinese-ratings-agency-cuts-us-debt-over-political-deficiencies