A Chinese man pays for pork meat at a ma

A Chinese man pays for pork meat at a market in Beijing on March 11, 2008. China's inflation rate hit 8.7 percent in February, the highest level in nearly 12 years, the government said March 11, as it called for a "cool-headed" response as for China's communist rulers, inflation is of particular concern because it threatens to lead to social unrest and fuel anger at the government, as was the case in the lead-up to the 1989 democracy protests that the military crushed. AFP PHOTO/TEH ENG KOON (Photo credit should read TEH ENG KOON/AFP via Getty Images)