China faces challenge hitting CPI target

China may find it difficult to contain consumer price inflation within the government's target of 3 per cent this year due to mounting inflationary expectations and rising commodity prices, a senior government economist said on Saturday.

Yao Jingyuan, chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that proposed reforms to the resource pricing system unpredictable bad weather could also push up overall prices through the rest of the year.

"It is really difficult to hold inflation within 3 per cent this year," Yao told a forum, webcast on news portal Hexun.

"I think consumer prices will rise further, and the upward pressure is really big now."

Consumer prices rose 2.4 per cent in the year to March, down slightly from 2.7 per cent in February, easing some concerns about whether the central bank will move soon to tighten policy.

Yao acknowledged that there were also factors that could dampen inflation, citing the overcapacity faced by a wide range of industries and plentiful grain supply due to an expected good harvest for the full year.

Yao's views chimed with those of Li Xiaochao, spokesman of the NBS, who said after the release of data showing the economy grew by an annual 11.9 per cent in the first quarter that Beijing may face challenges to achieve its CPI target but that it should be within reach.