'China can keep inflation to 4pc'

BEIJING: Chinese prices still face upward pressure, but the government should be able to hold inflation to an average of 4 percent this year, the country's statistics chief said on Thursday.

Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, was speaking on the sidelines of China's annual session of parliament. In a separate report on Thursday, Li Daokui, an adviser to the central bank, said inflation could average 5 percent this year because of soaring global commodity prices.

The Chinese government has set a target of 4 percent average inflation for 2011.