Timeline: China's moves to tackle consumer price inflation
http://www.huanqiu.com 来源：新华网 网友评论条进入论坛 2008-01-17 10:44
BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- As China's consumers prepare for the annual Spring Festival shopping spree, the government on Wednesday moved to restrict price hikes on key household commodities, including on grain, edible oils, meat, milk, eggs and liquefied petroleum gas.
It was the latest in a series of moves since July last year to cool surging inflation, which has stayed well above the official critical mark of four percent and shot to an 11-year high of 6.9 percent in November. These included:
-- July 6, 2007. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announces minimum procurement prices for wheat at the 2006 level after annual production subsidies for farmers are set at 42.7 billion yuan (5.88 billion U.S. dollars), up 63 percent or 16.5 billion yuan (2.27 billion U.S. dollars) from the previous year. The NDRC, the country's top economic planner, explains the move is "conducive to leading a market expectation over stable prices for grain crops and non-staple products".
-- July 30, 2007. When the consumer price index surges to 5.6 percent, the NDRC forbids local governments whose CPI figures exceed official targets by a large margin from taking any measures that might raise prices unless for the purposes of environmental protection and energy conservation within the year. It urges caution with the exercise of administrative interventions, stressing the role of the market in product pricing and the welfare of low-income families.
-- Aug. 2, 2007. A government circular initiates a national overhaul of price rigging and profiteering for major foodstuffs including grain, edible vegetable oils, pork, beef, mutton, and poultry.
-- Aug. 4, 2007. The NDRC orders PetroChina and Sinopec to step up processing of crude oil, to restrict exports of crude oil and take all means to secure domestic market supply.
-- Aug. 6, 2007. Another NDRC circular requires local authorities to strengthen price monitoring and alerts on the supply and sales of pork, grain crops, edible oils, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products.
-- Sept. 10, 2007. A second national price overhaul ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays is jointly launched by the NDRC, the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and quarantine.
-- Sept. 21, 2007. After the CPI hits 6.5 percent in August, the government auctions off more rice and wheat from official stockpiles, releases the corn reserve into the market to stabilize prices for feed, temporarily cuts the import tariff on soybeans from three percent to one percent, releases the pork reserve at below-market prices, raises minimum subsistence stipends for urban people and subsidizes college canteens.
