In China, people feel inflation's pinch

BEIJING, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The word inflation has undergone its own form of inflation in China this year, an Internet research firm said.

Xinhua reported Saturday that a recent survey in China by Internet forum Tianya found the Chinese character for "price hike" was the most commonly used phrase on the Internet this year.

The survey show the government's concern for inflation is also shared by the people of China, who have found prices for mung beans doubled from October 2009 to May 2010. Prices for other staples, such as sugar and garlic, have risen 40 percent in the past seven months.

The annual rate of inflation began this year at 1.5 percent. In November, as if looking in a mirror, inflation reached 5.1 percent.

Working-class families are feeling the pinch. "My husband and I make only about 1,400 yuan a month," or about $210, said Wang Yanhong, a cleaner from Changchun City.

As if defining the difficulty of raising the standard of living for a country of 1.3 billion people, Wang said, "My son is preparing for the college entrance examination and I can't afford to buy him proper food."

The People's Bank of China has initiated a series of steps to control prices and government officials have pledged further steps.

But Xu Shanda, former vice director of the State Administration of Taxation, said inflation of 4 percent or higher might be expected for a while.

"On the whole, we're having some difficulty stabilizing commodity prices. But we can do it," said National Bureau of Statistics Chief Economist Yao Jingyuan.