(AFP) - More than anything else, Chinese hope inflation will fall in the new year, state media reported Monday, reflecting growing public concern about rising prices.
Four in five Chinese place a cooling in the consumer price index, or CPI, at the top of their New Year wishes, the China Daily said, citing an online poll carried out by popular news portal QQ.com and the China Youth Daily.
"You may not run faster than (world champion 110 m hurdler) Liu Xiang, but your assets have to grow faster than CPI," one of the 3,200 respondents in the poll was quoted as saying.
Inflation, which hit an 11-year high of 6.9 percent in November, beat more traditional concerns such as corruption and pollution, according to the paper.
The results of the poll were confirmed by a survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top think tank, which showed two out of three urban residents thought rising prices were the social issue of highest concern.
Inflation in China has been boosted by rising food prices, and especially a rise in the price of pork, the nation's favourite meat.