China's Rising Prices

    LENIN (列宁）thought inflation a subversive（颠覆性的） force, as damaging to capitalism as any Bolshevik revolutionary（布尔什维克/社会主义改革）. Certainly, his heirs（继承者） in the Chinese Communist Party （中国共产党）are taking no chances. On November 17th the State Council（国务院）, China’s cabinet, promised “forceful measures” to stabilise prices（稳定物价）. It said it would drum up supply and crack down on hoarders（贮藏者，囤积者） and speculators（投机者，投机商人）. It even threatened to “interfere” with the prices of daily necessities（日用品）, which might include grains, cooking oils, sugar and cotton.

     Inflation（通货膨胀） is not yet a threat to the republic. But consumer prices rose by 4.4% in the year to October, the fastest rise for over two years. Food prices, which account for more than a third of the consumer-price index（指数）, are largely to blame: vegetables are almost a third more expensive than they were a year ago. Even the most exotic（稀有的） commodities have been affected . As China’s prices rise, consumer confidence and the stockmarket are falling. Shanghai shares have fallen by a tenth since the inflation figures came out.

      Rising food prices may explain China’s inflation, but what is behind their rise? Floods, including a deluge（洪水） in Hainan province last month, hurt some crops. Harvests have also disappointed elsewhere in the world: the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said this week that the cost of the world’s food imports may exceed $1 trillion this year, only $5 billion short of the record bill in 2008.