MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. The upgrade of Russia’s credit rating by Chinese agency China Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI) to BBB+g is a testament to the nation's economic resilience, managing director of sovereign and regional ratings at Expert RA Tatyana Tirskikh told TASS.

"The upgrade of the rating to BBB+g by two notches compared with 2021 highlights a serious improvement of Russia’s macroeconomic indicators. Over the past two years, despite external pressure, the Russian economy has shown accelerated real GDP growth of 4.1%," she said.

For the first time since 2014, Russia has been designated as a high-income country by the World Bank, the expert said. The country’s financial sector has grown as well. In particular, the ratio of banking sector assets to GDP rose from 92% to 99.6% from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2025. Meanwhile, government debt indicators improved as well. In terms of GDP, federal budget debt fell from 15.6% at the end of 2021 to 14.5% at the end of 2024, while in terms of revenue it decreased from 82.9% to 79.1%, respectively.

The expert also framed the special military operation as having a positive impact on the Russian economy, as exporters successfully pivoted to new markets and import restrictions led to a solid trade surplus, contributing to the stability of the national currency.

Earlier on Monday Vedomosti reported that China Chengxin International Credit Rating had raised Russia’s sovereign credit rating to BBB+g with a stable outlook. This is the first such assessment provided by a foreign agency since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. This rating indicates moderate economic and financial stability and a similar default risk. The rating is an improvement over the one before the special military operation, which was BBB-g. After the events of 2022, the Chinese agency initially downgraded Russia’s rating to BBg, and later, in the summer of 2022, withdrew it, the paper said.