Property stalls

Meanwhile, property prices in 70 major Chinese mainland cities remained unchanged month on month in June, the first time the sector did not post a gain since July 2005.

Fan said investors calling for government support of stock and property markets was unwise because the corrections still fell within a controllable range that was good for the overall economy.

He said it was more important for the government to watch the trend of inflation.

"Although the pressure from food-driven inflation is easing, surging energy costs have created a new source to push up producer and consumer prices," said Fan. "To tame inflation should be the top priority for officials," added Fan.

In the first half, China's Consumer Price Index settled at 7.9 percent. Growth slowed to 7.1 percent in June from 7.7 percent in May.

(Shanghai Daily July 22, 2008)