diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/parser/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/dom/parser/ArithmeticConversion.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/parser/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/dom/parser/ArithmeticConversion.java
index ce8d9a32141..dbc2c9dc718 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/parser/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/dom/parser/ArithmeticConversion.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/parser/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/dom/parser/ArithmeticConversion.java
@@ -201,8 +201,8 @@ public abstract class ArithmeticConversion {
 			return unsignedType;
 		}
 
-		// The signed has the higher rank.
-		if (signedRank.ordinal() > unsignedRank.ordinal()) {
+		// The signed has the higher rank, check if signed type can represent all unsigned values
+		if (fitsIntoType(signedType, unsignedType)) {
 			return signedType;
 		}