王雙正 李 英

|Editorial note|Driven by price hikes of foods such as pork, edible oil and vegetables, Chinas consumer price index (CPI) increased from early 2007 and ended the year with a year-over-year increase of 4.8% in CPI and 12.3% in food prices. In the face of this rising in?ationary pressure, the Central Economic Working Conference convened in December 2007 with the key mission statement of staving off runaway in?ation through macro-control policy in 2008. Is Chinas current price level too high? What are the price movement trends in 2008? Will governmental control policies work? This article provides an in-depth analysis of the four major periods of in?ation and one period of de?ation in China since the reform and opening up period as well as the key factors driving the overall price movement in order to help readers better understand the recent ongoing price hikes in China.