Beijing Extends Price Controls: China has ordered...

Beijing Extends Price Controls: China has ordered the freezes for the remainder of the year on commodities and services still subsidized by the state, as part of official efforts to control inflation. Prices of four-fifths of industrial and farm products were set by the market by the end of last year, although there is still a dual pricing system for many products, especially industrial raw materials, according to the official media. Just this spring, Chinese cities removed the last price controls on staple goods as a further step toward a free-market economy, but since then the government has instituted an austerity program to rein in inflation.