BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's price levels continued their moderate recovery in August, reflecting sustained improvement in domestic demand under supportive policy measures.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent month on month in August, reversing three consecutive months of decline, while the year-on-year gain accelerated from 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent.
NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the uptick to several factors: rising energy prices, seasonal increases in food prices, continued gains in travel services during the summer holiday period, and higher prices for smartphones and computers driven by the surging demand for computing power.
Core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, edged up to 1 percent year on year from 0.9 percent the previous month.
Factory-gate prices also sent encouraging signals. The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.4 percent month on month in August, swinging from a 0.7 percent decline the previous month, while the year-on-year gain widened to 3.8 percent.
The NBS cited the pass-through effect of rising global commodity prices and stronger demand in some sectors driven by domestic industrial upgrading.
Wednesday's price data is consistent with the broad pickup in consumer activity seen across China this summer.
Railway passenger trips totaled 954 million in July and August combined, and summer box office receipts reached 12.5 billion yuan (1.84 billion U.S. dollars). To channel consumer enthusiasm, more than 30,000 events centered on summer leisure, study tours and night economy were held nationwide, while over 450 million yuan in consumption subsidies were distributed by local governments.
Expanding domestic demand remains high on China's economic agenda. At a high-level meeting in late July, policymakers called for effectively expanding domestic demand, broadening quality supply to meet the needs of different consumer groups, and tapping the potential of service consumption. The Ministry of Commerce recently issued a set of guidelines to accelerate the release of demand for personalized consumption.
Experts believe more efforts should be made to smooth the flow of consumption and lift income expectations of individuals.
Chasing Securities predicts the policy measures to continue driving a moderate recovery in price levels. Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating, forecasts that CPI will continue to edge up year on year in September, with price levels expected to remain moderate.
The role of consumption as a primary engine of economic growth is set to strengthen. Official data showed final consumption expenditure contributed 2.1 percentage points to GDP growth in the first half of the year, continuing to lead all growth drivers.
For the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China has released a dedicated consumption expansion plan setting out 28 priority measures, with efforts to cultivate new consumption models and scenarios, raise household spending capacity, and optimize the consumer environment.
A strong domestic demand helps ensure a stable economy. With expanding domestic demand as a strategic anchor, China's pro-consumption policies will inject sustained internal growth momentum into the broader economy, experts said. ■
