It was 25 C below zero when grandpa Wen, as China's premier is affectionately known, visited the heart of the Xilingol pasture in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia to greet herders in their homes on New Year's Day.

During the trip he also inspected commodity supplies and prices at a local supermarket. Freezing cold as it was, what he could not have failed to notice was that economically, and therefore politically, things were heating up.

Inflation in China was recorded at 4.9 percent that month, indicating a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power. It was a far cry from the historical high of 27.70 percent reached in October 1994 and far above the record low of minus 2.20 percent recorded in March 1999, but the bald figure hid a welter of detail.