(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- China’s National Bureau of Statistics said there is no basis for prices to rise significantly this year and the consumer price index will remain stable.

Prices remained generally steady last year, and there were a number of reasons why the annual CPI rose 2 percent, below an expected 3 percent gain, Kang Yi, director of the NBS, told a press conference in Beijing today.]First, China has no monetary over-issuance and prices reflect supply and demand. Moreover, China’s complete industrial system and sufficient supply of goods and services contribute to stable consumer prices, he said.

Another reason was government efforts to secure the supply of commodities such as food and energy and ensure their stable pricing. Geopolitical conflicts and rising energy costs are a relatively major influence on imported inflation, the NBS chief noted.

In this regard, China first secured energy supplies. For example, China’s total coal production reached 4.5 billion tons last year, ensuring stable supply of electricity. China’s grain output has also been above 650 million kilograms for eight years in a row, avoiding a situation where rising food costs drive up the prices of other goods.

Kang said the entire consumer market was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, especially the restrictions on group and contact consumerism, which had a greater impact.

Also, the propensity to consume has been declining among residents. Last year, retail sales of consumer goods excluding autos amounted to CNY39 trillion (USD5.8 trillion), down 0.4 percent from the previous year.

But Kang said China’s consumer market will gradually recover this year as the pandemic controls enter a new stage, normal production and life are restored, and offline consumption picks up.

Editor: Peter Thomas