Government leaders recently decided that China should establish reserves for major commodities to prevent unexpected price jumps so consumers would not feel the pinch of sudden price increases for daily necessities.

Certain grains and vegetables, meat, cooking oil, electricity and coal were among the specific items that the government listed.

An article in the Guanming Daily says the global financial crisis, which came about largely because of the U.S. mortgage industry collapse, has greatly influenced China's import and export volumes, resulting in dramatic price increases for most products.

It also notes that some of China's major macroeconomy indices dropped quickly during the second half of this year, because of the fallout from the global financial turmoil. As a result, experts called on the Chinese government to take practical measures to curb a shift from inflation to deflation.

The article also notes that the government has plans to put in place a sound monitoring system to keep an eye on price changes for daily necessities. The article also says a commodity price pre-warning and evaluation mechanism is essential as well.