Fitch Ratings downgraded China’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating on concerns of the country’s weakening public finances and rising public debt.

The cut takes China’s credit rating to ‘A’ from ‘A+’ with a stable outlook, Fitch said in a statement on Thursday. China’s Ministry of Finance responded with a strong rebuke, describing the decision as biased and not reflective of reality.

“The downgrade reflects our expectations of a continued weakening of China’s public finances and a rapidly rising public debt trajectory during the country’s economic transition,” Fitch said on Thursday. “We expect the government debt/GDP to continue its sharp upward trend over the next few years, driven by these high deficits, ongoing crystallisation of contingent liabilities and subdued nominal GDP growth.”