Dagong Global Credit Rating Co Ltd, the agency that recently gave the Ministry of Railways a credit rating of AAA, has defended its rating in response to doubts from the public, China Business News reported.

The public questioned the agency after the Ministry of Railways, which has experienced scrutiny after the July train accident, received the highest achievable credit rating and exceeded China's sovereign rating of AA+. The public raised doubts because the ministry, which is backed by the government, received a credit rating higher than that of local and foreign currencies in China.

Dagong has explained that evaluations of ratings for a nation and a company are not comparable because they are put into different fields. The agency also reported that the ministry has national credit with strong debt-paying abilities.