Widespread power cuts and rationing in China might quickly push the country into a position where inflation is “difficult to control”, an economist has said. Power shortages in China have resulted in the price of electricity rising sharply and power supplies to some factories being capped. Independent economist Jiang Hao told Radio Free Asia that due to such shortages, the price of industrial products will rise, and prices of downstream consumer products will inevitably increase as well. This vicious chain reaction may trigger inflation, “because inflation can self accelerate. The accelerating trend is difficult to control once inflation expectations are formed,” he said. Since the end of August, 20 provinces including Yunnan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Liaoning, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, and Henan have restricted power usage. The Wall Street Journal reported that power rationing started to hit households in the northeast where they have had sudden blackouts beginning mid-September. A few …