China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.7 percent year on year in July, staying flat from the figure for June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on August 9.

The figure remained well below the government's full-year target of 3.5 percent.

The NBS attributed the inflation growth mainly to rises in food prices on a year-on-year basis, which went up 5 percent in July. Food prices weigh about one third of the CPI's calculation.

Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician with the NBS, said China's consumer prices have stayed relatively stable. "Compared on a monthly basis, the July CPI grew 0.1 percent from June, and food prices in July also stayed flat from a month ago," Yu said.

China's producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level, fell 2.3 percent year on year in July. The figure, down 0.3 percent from June, marked the 17th straight month of decline.