Commentary Inflation is about to hit China at a very inopportune time. Inflation and specters of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike could present a double whammy on China’s economy as it struggles to come out of COVID-19 lockdowns. Official National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed Chinese factory gate prices, or the cost at which wholesalers purchase from factories, increased 13.5 percent in October compared to a year ago. This is the fastest rise in China’s producer price index (PPI) since 1996. The index tracks purely the price of goods at “factory gates” and does not include transportation or logistics costs, which are also rising. The alarming figure was the result of a rise in other input prices including that of coal, oil, steel, and electricity. Factory gate inflation may have been exacerbated by an unexpected energy crunch over the last few months. In October, the Chinese Communist …