For March 2019, China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.3 percent year-on-year and was 0.4 percent lower than in the previous month, while the producer price index (PPI) was 0.4 percent higher than last year and 0.1 percent higher than in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on April 11.
The data shows that China’s economy is on a solid and stable footing, Niu Li, deputy director of the Economic Predictions Department of the National Information Center, told opinion.haiwainet.cn, the overseas outlet for the People’s Daily.
“The CPI rise is moderate and below the target set by the government,” Niu said. “And because of the carryover impact from last year’s price fluctuations, the average CPI for the second quarter will maintain moderate growth.”
The trend shows that China’s economy is running within a stable and reasonable range, for which CPI is an indicator, Niu added.
The month-on-month variation in CPI changed from a 3.2 percent increase in February to a 0.9 percent reduction for March. “During the Spring Festival holiday, vegetable and meat prices rose before falling back to normal after the period ended,” he said.
Since last year, China’s PPI has been steadily decreasing, leading media outlets to warn of looming deflation. Niu countered that PPI only reflects changes in industrial prices, and its decline is not linked to deflation, which concerns the overall economic environment.
And to ease the downward pressure on manufacturing, the State has been rolling out a series of policies since the beginning of this year, including prudent monetary policies, larger-than-expected tax and fee cuts, and measures to improve business environments, Niu said.
PPI for the second quarter will continue to rise slightly, he predicted. Constrained by the current international environment, PPI will warm up slowly in the next year. “The effect of China’s policies will need time to show… though the overall expectations are stable and sound,” he said.
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