The authorities in Beijing added their voice of concern Thursday — albeit in more muted terms.

“We hope that the U.S. government adopts responsible policies and measures to guarantee the interests of investors,” Reuters quoted a foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, as saying. Mr. Hong was speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing, and was responding to questions about the Moody’s report.

The comments echoed those made by officials in Beijing in April, when Standard & Poor’s, another leading credit rating agency, lowered its outlook on the United States from stable to negative because of the country’s high budget deficit and rising government indebtedness.