BEIJING -- China Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said Thursday that China hopes and believes the US government can solve its debt crisis in a timely manner and boost the recovery and stability of global financial markets.

The spokesman made the remarks in response to questions at the ministry's monthly press conference held in Beijing.

"As the world's largest economy, a debt default would not only affect the United States' reputation, but also drag down the recovery process of the global economy," Shen said.

Meanwhile, a default could possibly lead to the depreciation of the US dollar, which would increase operation risks for China's foreign trade businesses and affect the stability of exports and imports, as the United States is China's second-largest export market.

A default would cause fluctuations to the global financial markets and impact foreign investment to China and China's outbound investment, Shen said.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives approved a deal to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the federal government, clearing a final hurdle for the legislation in Congress.

The bill ended weeks of tension and stalemate between the Republican and Democratic parties which sent the federal government into the first partial shutdown in 17 years and also invoked widespread concerns about a default.