Consumer inflation at 4-month low, factory contraction continues

"The August CPI and PPI figures showed across-the-board weakness in the economy," said Ma Guangyuan, director of Renmin University's private investment research center.

He said a deeper PPI decline last month meant the economy was still in trouble.

China's economy expanded 7.4 percent year on year in the first half of 2014.

However, Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said China can meet its major economic goals this year and that policymakers will not be distracted by short-term fluctuations of individual indicators.

In his keynote speech at the Summer Davos forum on Wednesday, Premier Li suggested electricity consumption, freight volume and other indicators had "fluctuated somewhat" in July and August.

He said the fluctuation was "inevitable and within expectation, " citing a complex and volatile domestic and international economic situation, as well as the base figures of last year.

"We focused more on structural readjustment and other long-term problems, and refrained from being distracted by the slight short-term fluctuations of individual indicators," according to the premier.

China's power consumption slowed again in July, expanding only 3 percent year on year, which was sharply lower than the 5.9-percent recorded in June, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The NEA will release its latest figure later this month.

Economists upbeat on China	Sci-Tech, innovation to play crucial roles in China's long-term growth