Falling food and energy prices have lowered inflation in China in 2024, officials said, but they expect stronger price growth this year thanks to government stimulus efforts aimed at strengthening spending and consumer confidence.
Fu Linghui, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said that despite the volatility in food and energy prices, the core consumer price index – which excludes these items – remained relatively stable. He added that the government’s stimulus efforts were leading to stronger consumption.
The Communist Party’s crucial economic policy meeting, the Central Conference on Economic Work in December, “explicitly declared for the first time the need to achieve a balanced combination of economic growth, stable employment and moderate price recovery ” Fu said.
China announced a series of measurementsincluding monetary easing and budgetary support to local governments, aimed at boosting growth. But analysts remain skeptical about the significant impact of these efforts on household confidence, which has been affected by the crisis in the real estate sector.
Consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent in December year-on-year, compared with 0.2 percent a month earlier. Consumer price growth has been weak or in deflationary territory for 18 months.
