(File photo)

In the wake of Brexit, American rating companies Standard & Poor's and Fitch lowered the U.K.'s sovereign credit rating; however, China's ratings agencies made a different choice. On June 28, Dagong Global Credit Rating maintained its A+ rating for the U.K. The logic behind this decision was that the risk of Brexit had already been factored into Dagong's previous evaluation, so the rating didn’t need to change.

China is unquestionably rising in the global credit rating scene. During the 2016 World Credit Rating Forum held on July 18 and 19, speakers from both China and abroad expressed this viewpoint. Dominique de Villepin, former prime minister of France, said that China and Asia are key to establishing a new rating system.

In 2013, Universal Credit Rating Group (UCRG) was established by Dagong Global Credit Rating, RusRating JSC and Egan-Jones Rating Company. As a non-sovereign international institution, UCRG doesn't represent the interests of any single country or group, which means it breaks the monopoly of Western rating agencies. Already, rating agencies from dozens of countries have expressed their desire to join the group.

At the forum, UCRG, together with Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to further promote the international credit rating service.

De Villepin said that Chinese enterprises going abroad have generated a huge demand for credit rating, and that UCRG will play an important role in carrying out the Belt and Road Initiative.