A top central bank official said on Monday that consumer prices will rise by about 3 percent in China this year, as monetary authorities make curbing inflation a top priority.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said the central bank will continue to focus on maintaining relatively low inflation this year, and price increases would remain within a "controllable spectrum".

He made the remarks while attending a group discussion at the annual meeting of the CPPCC National Committee.