China guards against imported inflation

TIANJIN - The Chinese government has built "multiple lines of defense" to guard against imported inflation and will not let it fuel domestic consumer prices, a senior official at the country's top economic planner said Thursday.

To contain rising inflation, Chinese authorities have been working to boost production, ensure supply, improve distribution networks and stabilize prices, Peng Sen, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said on the sideline of a national conference on economic system reform.

China's current inflation pressures are triggered by various factors, including both imported inflation and rising raw material costs, Peng said.

The country's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 4.9 percent in February, exceeding the 4-percent target the government set for 2011.

Peng expected the growth of consumer prices to remain strong at the start of the year, but fall later because of the phasing-out of the carryover effect and government anti-inflation measures.

The Chinese government has put price stability top on the agenda of this year's economic work and announced a series of measures to tame inflation. These included twice hiking interest rates, raising the reserve requirement ratio for banks three times and clamping down on price speculation and hoarders.