China was unlikely to face serious inflationary pressure this year with consumer price index (CPI) growth expected to hover around 4 percent, said Zheng Jingping, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics.

"There is still a lot of hope that this year's growth in CPI can be controlled around 4 percent or within that," Zheng was cited as saying in reports in the Securities Times and Shanghai Securities News on Wednesday. He said CPI growth of under 4 percent did not imply inflation.

A report in the China Securities Journal said China's first-quarter CPI growth was expected to be around 2.5 percent. The report cited the price-monitoring center at the National Development and Reform Commission, the top industry policymaker.

In January, China's CPI rose 1.9 percent year on year, its lowest increase in 14 months. However, seasonal adjustment was a factor because the Chinese Luner New Year fell in January last year, boosting prices and holiday consumption during the month and creating a high comparison base. This year the holiday was in February.

China's CPI rose 3.9 percent last year, more than triple the 1.2 percent rise a year ago.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies