On January 12, 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics released information on China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). According to the latest release, the CPI fell during the five consecutive months prior to the close of 2011. In December, the CPI showed an increase of 4.1% compared to the same month last year. This was a record low for the prior 15 months. The annual CPI increase for 2011 was 5.4%. Ma Jiantang, the Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, expressed that the government’s regulation and control of prices had achieved remarkable results. However, a survey conducted by China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, during the fourth quarter of 2011, showed that 68.7% of the residents surveyed believed that prices were “high and hard to accept.” Many residents indicated that their “income could not catch up with price increases”
Source: Xinhua, January 22, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-01/22/c_111457063_2.htm