Consumer inflation to stay within govt target

TIANJIN - China's consumer inflation will remain within the government target of 3 percent for this year although it registered a 22-month high in August, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, on Tuesday.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, reached 3.5 percent year-on-year in August, up 0.2 percentage points from July, reaching a 22-month high, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The strong growth of CPI has sparked concerns that the country may fail to keep whole-year inflation under 3 percent as it has vowed to do, and lead to a hike in interest rates.