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China's consumer price index, a gauge of inflation, rose 5.5 percent in May on an annual basis, nearly reaching a three-year high. [CFP]

1) Vice premier: Curbing inflation top priority

Keeping inflation under control is the Chinese government's top priority, Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in a speech at the Second Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing on Saturday.

"Inflation is a major challenge both for the Chinese and global economy," said Li. "Surging food and energy prices have cast a shadow over the growth of the economy."

Li's words came just a day after Premier Wen Jiabao wrote in a signed article in the Financial Times China is confident it can maintain prices at a reasonable level this year.

"China has made capping price rises the priority of macroeconomic regulation and introduced a host of targeted policies [to achieve this end]," he wrote. "These have worked. The overall price level is within a controllable range and is expected to drop steadily"

China's consumer price index, a gauge of inflation, rose 5.5 percent in May on an annual basis, nearly reaching a three-year high, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The CPI increase in June is expected to surpass 5.5 percent as May cost pressures begin to reflect themselves in higher prices this month, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its Web site Wednesday.