中國通貨膨脹率激增

China says its economy is continuing its robust advance, but the country's inflation rate hit a 32-month high in March despite the government's repeated efforts to control consumer prices.

The government said Friday the economy grew by 9.7 percent in the first three months of the year, down only a tenth of a percentage point from the final quarter of 2010. But the growth in the economy was accompanied by the worrisome rise in consumer prices even as the government increased interest rates four times since October in an effort to cool ared to a year ago, China's cost of living jumped by 5.4 percent in March, a figure fueled by an 11.7 percent surge in food costs. The inflation rate was up from the 4.9 percent annual rate recorded in February.

Chinese leaders view rising consumer costs as a political threat. Food prices are particularly sensitive in a country where poor people spend up to half their incomes on ese leaders have said controlling prices is the government's top priority for the year and Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to continue the government's efforts. He said “every means” would be used to control consumer prices. Mr. Wen said the government needs to “skillfully handle” the relationship between promoting economic growth and taming inflation.

中國表示其經濟持續增長。在另一方面，儘管政府不斷努力來控制消費價格，通貨膨脹率在三月份還是達到32月來新高。

中國政府星期五表示，今年第一季度的經濟上漲9.7%，這一數字只比2010年最後一個季度的上漲率降低0.1%。但是經濟的增長伴隨着消費品價格增長的擔憂，政府自從10月份以來已經四次調升利率，以爲通貨膨脹降溫。相比一年前，中國的生活成本三月份激增5.4%， 食品價格更是激增達11.7%。去年2月份的通貨膨脹率爲4.9%。

中國領導人把消費品價格上漲看作是政治威脅。在一個窮人將多達一半的收入用於食品的國家裏，糧食價格異常敏感。中國領導人曾說，控制價格是今年政府的首要任務，中國總理溫家寶誓言政府會繼續努力。他說，政府會採取“一切手段”來控制消費價格。溫家寶還說，中國政府要巧妙地處理促進經濟增長和抑制通貨膨脹之間的關係。