New | China credit ratings unharmed by market volatility, Fitch says

China cannot possibly deliver the stability it craves for its equity markets, but that does not necessarily threaten the trajectory of the country's economic reforms or its credit ratings, Fitch's sovereign ratings chief told the .

"It may be beyond the reach of policymakers to control equity markets. It's as simple as that," James McCormack, global head of sovereign and supranational ratings, said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Hong Kong.

"They are never going to be able to fully control where the market goes on a day to day basis. Holding them to that standard is the wrong standard," McCormack said.

"The credit fundamentals are unchanged by what we see going on in the equity market," he said. "Financial market volatility in and of itself, particularly when it is not associated with debt markets, which it is not, for now… is not something that really drives ratings."

China is rated A-plus by Fitch with a stable outlook, which investors tend to interpret as meaning the rating is unlikely to change during the next six months.

Where investors should focus is on Beijing's efforts to deliver broad financial stability in the face of a slowing economy with changing growth drivers and to reduce the country's dependence on debt to drive economic activity, McCormack said.