China producer prices slump as Li warns of challenges

Prices for China's factory-produced goods have fallen as growth has slowed and overseas demand slackened. - AFP/File

Beijing (AFP) - China's factory gate prices fell at their fastest rate in six years in August, the government said Thursday, as Premier Li Keqiang warned that transforming the world's second-largest economy will be a "painful and treacherous" process.

But Li expressed confidence the country will hit its expansion target of around seven percent, as Beijing looks to soothe fears about a growth slowdown that have rocked global financial markets in recent weeks.